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i:KE.:(j-REAr 



riA T 



VESTON 




)iSASTE 




RICHARD SPILLANE 

EDITOR OF THE "gaLVESTON TRIBUNE" AND ASSOCIATED PRESS COR- 
RESPONDENT, WHO WAS CHOSEN BY THE MAYOR AND CITIZENS- 
COMMITTEE TO SEIZE ANY VESSEL IN THE HARBOR AND CONVEV 
TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD THE NEWS OF THE GREAT D-SaSTER 



n^^ 



the great 
Qalveston Disaster 

CONTAINING A 

Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling 
Calamity of Modern Times 

INCLUDING 

VIVID DESCRIPTIONS OF THE HURRICANE AND TERRIBLE 
RUSH OF WATERS; IMMENSE DESTRUCTION OF DWELL- 
INGS, BUSINESS HOUSES, CHURCHES. AND LOSS 
OF THOUSANDS OF HUMAN LIVES 

THRILLING TALES OF HEROIC DEEDS; PANIC-STRICKEN 

MULTITUDES AND HEART-RP:NDING SCENES OF AGONY ; 

FRANTIC EFFORTS TO ESCAPE A HORRIBLE FATE; 

SEPARATION OF LOVED ONES. ETC., ETC. 

Narrow Escapes from the Jaws of Death 

TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS OF THE SURVIVORS; VANDALS 

PLUNDERING BODIES OF THE DEAD, WONDERFUL 

EXHIBITIONS OF POPULAR SYMPATHY; MILLIONS 

OF DOLLARS SENT FOR THE RELIEF OF 

THE STRICKEN SUFFERERS 

BY PAULi liESTEt^ 

Author of " Life in the Southwest," Etc., Etc. 

With an Introduction by ,; 

RICHARD SPILLANE 

Editor •' Oalveston Tribune" and Associated Press Correspondent 



PROFUSELY EMBELLISHED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN 
IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE DISASTER 



THE J. SfNGflR BOOK GO, 






ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAH 1900, BY 

HORACE C. FRY 

1 THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON. 0. < 



: PREFACE 



THOUSANDS of men, women and cliildren swept to sudden 
death. Millions of dollars worth of property destroyed. 
Scenes of suffering and desolation that beggar description. 
Heroic efforts to save human life. The world shocked by the 
appalling news. Such is the thrilling story of the Galveston 
flood, and in this volume it is told with wonderful power and effect. 

There have been many disasters by storm and flood in modem 
times, but none to equal this. In the brief space of twelve hours 
more persons lost their lives than were killed during a year of the 
war between the British and the Boers or during a year and a half 
of our war in the Philippines. 

The calamity came suddenly. Galveston was not aware of 
its impending fate. News of an approaching cyclone produced 
no alarm. Suddenly word was sent that the hurricane was bend- 
ing from its usual course and might strike the city. Even then 
there was no sudden fear, no hurrying to escape, no thought of 
swift destruction. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the 
city waked up to the awful fact that it was to be engulfed by a 
tidal wave, and buried in the flood of waters. 

The news of the overwhelming disaster came as a shock to 
people everywhere. Bulletin boards in all our cities were sur- 
rounded by eager crowds to obtain the latest reports. Many who 
had friends in the stricken city were kept in suspense respecting 
their fate. With bated breath was the terrible calamity talked 
about, and in every part of our country committees of relief were 
immediately formed. The magnitude of the disaster grew from 
day to day. Every fresh report added to the intelligence already 
received, and it was made clear that a large part of the city of 
Galveston, with its inhabitants, had been swept out of existence. 

This work furnishes a striking description of a great city of 
the dead. It depicts the terrible scenes that followed the calamity, 



IV 



PREFACE. 



the fate that overtook the victims, and the agony of the living. It 
tells of the heroic efforts of the survivors to save their homes and 
families, and recover from the terrible blow. 

It tells of a thousand of the dead towed out and buried at sea 
and of many hundreds cremated on shore ; of the vandals who 
rushed in to strip lifeless bodies, unterrified by the scenes of hor- 
ror on every hand ; of United States soldiers shooting the robbers 
on sight and putting an end to their horrible sacrilege. 

The story of the appalling horror, the oncoming of the 
cyclone, the rising waters threatening the city, the inhabitants 
overtaken by the flood and cut off from escape, thousands hurried 
to death, chaos everywhere, recovery of bodies ravaged by thieves, 
all this is vividly told in this volume. 

The work contains thrilling stories by eye-witnesses. In this 
volume the survivors speak for themselves. They tell of the sud- 
den danger that paralyzed thousands and made them helpless 
against the onslaught of the tempest. 

They tell of separation from those who were attempting to 
afford relief and how futile all efforts were against the fury of the 
waves. They tell how their homes and places of business, their hos- 
pitals, school-houses and churches were swept away as in a moment. 
There were splendid examples of courage and heroism. The 
graphic description of the great disaster contained in this book 
thrills the reader. Amidst the alarm, the threatening death, the 
overwhelming flood, he sees how nobly men struggled to save their 
families and their fortunes. He seems to ride on the crest of the 
waves and witness with his own eyes the terrible tragedy. 

Our Government at Washington v/as quick to come to the 
rescue. It ordered tents to be provided and issued rations by the 
tens of thousands for the survivors. The chords of sympathy 
which make all men akin vibrated through every part of the civil- 
ized world. 

Thousands of helping hands were stretched out toward Gal- 
veston. Millions of dollars were given for the relief of the suf- 
ferers. This volume is a complete and authentic account of the 
great calamity told by the survivors. 



jr 



m-<i i IFntrobuctfon i ih- 



m?' 




BY RICHARD SPILLANE. 

[RICHARD SPILLANE, editor of the "Galveston Tribune," was chosen 
by the Mayor and Citizens' Committee to seize any vessel in the harbor and 
make his way as best he could to such point as he could reach, so as to get 
in touch with the outside world, tell the story of the tragedy and appeal to 
mankind for help. He crossed the bay during a squall, the little boat in 
which he sailed being in imminent danger of swamping, having been stove in 
during the hurricane. He reached Texas City after a perilous trip, then 
made his way over the flooded prairie to Lamarque, where he found a rail- 
road hand -car. With this hand-car he managed to reach League City, where 
he met a train coming from Houston to learn what fate had befallen Galves- 
ton. On this train he reached Houston, where after sending messages to 
President McKinlcy and Governor Sayers, he gave the news in detail to the 
newspapers of the nation.] 

IN THE world's great tragedies, that of Galveston stands 
remarkable. In no otlier case in history was a disaster met 
with such courage and fortitude ; in no other case in history 
were the people of the whole world so responsive to the call for 
help for the helpless. 

There prevails a belief that Galveston is subject to severe 
storms. That is a mistake. There have been heavy blows, and 
there have been times when the waters of the bay and the Gulf 
met in the city's streets, but the storm of September 8, 1900, is 
without parallel. The best proof of this slatement is furnished 
by the old Spanish charts of three hundred years ago. They con- 
tain as landmarks of Galveston Island the sign of three great 
trees — oaks — that stood three hundred years ago in what is known 
as Lafitte's grove, twelve miles down Galveston Island from the 
city. These oaks withstood the storms of three centuries. They 
were felled by the fury of the storm of September 8. 



vi INTRODUCTION. 

The storm of September 8tli did not, as has been supposed, 
come upon the city without warning. The same storm, less 
ferocious perhaps, had swept along the South Atlantic coast 
several days before. It had its origin in that breeding place of 
hurricanes, the West Indies, and, after swirling along the Florida 
and Carolina shores, doubled on its tracks, entered the Gulf, 
came racing westward and developing greater strength with each 
hour, and centered all its energies upon the Texas coast near 
Galveston. 

On September 7th there was of&cial warning of the approach 
of a severe storm, but no one expected such a tempest as was 
destined to devastate the city. Such warning as was given was 
rather addressed to mariners about to go to sea than to those liv 
ing on shore. 

Simultaneously with the approach of the hurricane was a 
great wind from the north, known locally as a "Norther." This 
developed at Galveston about 2 A. M., on September 8th. The 
approaching hurricane from the east and southeast had been 
driving a great wall of water toward the shore at Galveston. The 
tremendous wind storm from the north acted as a counter force 
or check to the hurricane element. 

The north wind blew the water from Galveston Bay on the 
one side of the city and the storm in the Gulf hurled its battal- 
ions of waves upon the beach side of the city. 

Barly in the day the battle between these two contending 
forces offered a magnificent spectacle to a student of scenery of 
nature. As long as the north wind held strong the city was safe. 
While the winds dashed great volumes of water over the wharves 
and flooded some streets in the business portion of the city and 
the waters of the Gulf on the other side of the city encroached 
upon the streets near the beach there was no particular fear of 
serious consequences, but about noon the barometer, which had 
been very low, suddenly began to drop at a rate that presaged a 
storm of tremendous violence. 

Following this came the warning that the wind would, before 
many hours, change from the north to the southeast and to the 



INTRODUCTION. vh 

fury of tlie wall of water being driven upon Galveston by the 
approaching hurricane would be added all the tremendous force 
of the wind that had previously acted as a partial check to the 
Gulf storm. 

To those who previously had no fear, the certainty that the 
wind would change came as the first real note of warning. With 
the first shifting of the wind the waters of the Gulf swept over 
the city. Houses near the beach began to crumble and collapse, 
their timbers being picked up by the wind and waves and thrown 
in a long line of battering rams against the structures. Men, 
women and children fled from their homes and sought safety in 
higher portions of the city, or in buildings more strongly built. 
Some were taken out in boats, some in wagons, some waded 
through the waters, but the flood rose so rapidly that the approack 
of night found many hundreds battling in the waters, unable to 
reach places of safety. The air was full of missiles. 

The wind tore slates from roofs and carried them along like 
wafers. A person struck by one of these, driven with the fearful 
violence of the storm, was certain to be maimed, if not killed out- 
right. The waves, with each succeeding sweep of the in-rushing 
tide, brought a greater volume of wreckage as house after house 
toppled and fell into the waters. So tremendous was the roar of 
the storm that all other sounds were dwarfed and drowned. Dur- 
ing the eight hours from 4 P. M. until midnight, the hurricane 
raged with a fury greater than words can describe. What height 
the winds reached will never be known. The wind gauge at the 
weather bureau recorded an average of 84 miles an hour for five 
consecutive minutes, and then the instruments were carried away. 
That was before the storm had become really serious. The belief, 
as expressed by the observer, that the wind averaged between 1 10 
and 120 miles an hour, is as good information as is obtainable. 

Nothing so exemplified the impotency of man as the storm. 
Massive buildings were crushed like egg shells, great timbers 
were carried through the air as though they were of no weight, 
and the winds and the waves swept everything before them until 
their appetite for destruction was satiated and their force spent. 



viii INTRODUCTION. 

A remarkable feature about tlie storm is the disparity in the 
depth of water in different portions of the city, and the undoubted 
fact that the waters subsided on the north side of the city hours 
before they did on the south side. 

These peculiarities are explained by the topography of the 
island. Broadway, which marks the center, or middle of the city 
proper, is on the ridge, from which the land slopes on one side) 
toward the bay and on the other, toward the Gulf The waters 
from the Gulf passed over this ridge and swept on toward the bay 
during the most furious stages of the storm, but the full energies 
of wind and water were directed upon that portion of the city 
between the Gulf and the Broadway Ridge. Of the lives lost in 
the city, 90 per cent, were in the district named. 

How many lives were sacrificed to the Storm King will never 
be known. The census taken in June showed that Galveston had 
a population of 38,000. Outside the city limits on Galveston 
Island there were 1,600 persons living. The dead in the city 
exceeded 5000. Of the 1600 living outside the city limits, 1200 
were lost. This frightful mortality — 75 per cent. — outside the 
city is explained by the fact that most of the people there lived 
in frail structures and had no places of comparati^^e safety to take 
refuge in. In the mainland district swept by the storm, at least 
100 persons perished. It is safe, therefore, to state that at least 
7000 lives were lost. 

Of the propert}^ damage no estimate can be considered accu- 
rate. The estimates range from $25,000,000 to $50,000,000. 

Of marvelous escapes from death, of acts of supreme heroism, 
of devotion and courage beyond parallel, the storm developed 
^any instances. In some cases whole families were blotted out, 
in others the strong perished and the weak survived. Of the 
various branches of one family, 42 were killed, while in one house- 
hold 13 out of a total of 15 were lost. 

Such a scene of desolation as met the eyes of the people of 
Galveston when day dawned Sunday, September 9, has rarely 
been witnessed on earth. Fifteen hundred acres of the city had 
been swept clear of every habitation. Every street was choked 



INTRODUCTION. U 

witb ruins, wliile tlie sea, not content with tearing away a great 
strip alono^ the beach front, had piled the wreckage in one great 
long mass from city end to city end. Beneath these masses of 
broken buildings, in the streets, in the 3^ards, in fence corners, in 
cisterns, in the bay, far out across the waters on the mainland 
shores, everywhere, in fact, were corpses. Galveston was a ver-/ 
itable charnel-house. To bury the dead was a ph3'sical impossi- 
bilit}'. Added to the horror of so many corpses was the presence 
of carcasses of thousands of horses, cattle, dogs and other domes- 
tic animals. 

To a people upon whom such a terrible calamit}^ had been 
visited, now devolved a duty the like of which a civilized people 
had never been called to perform. To protect the living the dead 
had to be gotten rid of with all speed, for with corpses on every 
side, Avith carcasses by the thousands, and with a severe tropic 
sun to hasten decomposition, pestilence in its most terrible form 
threatened the living if the dead were not removed. 

The tumbrels that rumbled over Paris streets with the grue- 
some burdens that came from Robespierre's abattoir had little 
work compared with the carts and wagons of Galveston in the 
days that followed the awful storm. It was at first determined to 
bury the dead at sea, but the procession of the dead seemed never- 
ending, and the cargoes that were taken to the deep and cast upon 
the waters came back with the tides and littered the shores. Then 
it was decided to bum the dead. 

Ye who know not the horror of those days, who took no part 
in the saddest spectacle that man ever witnessed, may well shed 
tears of sympathy for those whose human tenement blazed on the 
funeral P3^re in street or avenue, or whose requiem was' sung by 
the waves that had brought death — but shed tears, too, for the 
brave men who faced this most gruesome duty with a Spartan, 
courage the world has never known before. 

The dead past has buried its dead. 

For a week Galveston was under martial law. There was no 
disorder. There was some robbing of the dead b}^ ghouls. This 
was checked by a punishment swift and sure. 



X INTRODUCTION. 

The city rose from its ruins as if by magic. Street aftei 
street was cleared of debris. A small army of men worked from 
early morn until tbe shadows of night descended, to lift the city 
from its burden of wreckage. Then, when danger of epidemic 
seemed passed, attention was turned to commerce. The bay was 
■ strewn with stranded vessels. Monster ocean steamers weighing 
thousands of tons had been picked up like toys, driven across the 
lowlands, and thrown far from their moorings. One big steam- 
ship was hurled through three bridges, another, weighing 4,000 
tons, was carried twenty-two miles from deep water, and dashed 
against a bayou bluff in another count3\ 

The great wharves and warehouses along the bay front were a 
mass of splintered, broken timbers. 

But the mighty energ}^ of man worked wonders. Marvelous 
to say, under such conditions, a bridge 2% miles long was built 
across the bay within seven days and Galveston, which had been 
cut off from the world, was once more in active touch with all the 
marts of trade and commerce. An undaunted people strove as 
only an indomitable people can strive, to rehabilitate the city. 

The signs of the cripple are still upon the city, but every 
hour brings nearer the day when the crutches will be thrown 
away and Galveston, which by nature and by man was chosen as 
the entreport for the great West, will rise to a loftier destiny and 
a more enduring commercial prosperity than seemed possible 
before she was tried in the crucible of disaster. Longfellow says : 

Our lot is the common lot of all. 
Into each life some rain must fall, 
Some days must be dark and dreary. 

The dark and dreary days were crowded into Galveston's life 
with horror unspeakable. It is an inexorable law of nature that 
after the storm comes the radiance of a glorious sunshine. 



CONTE.NTS. 



CHAPTER I. PAGE 

l^irst News of the Great Calamity — Galveston Almost 
Totally Destroyed by Wind and Waves — Thousands 
Swept to Instant Death 17 

CHAPTER n. 
The Tale of Destruction Grovv's — .V Night of Horrors — 
Sufferings of the Survivors. — Relief Measures by the 
National Government 29 

CHAPTER. HI. 
Incidents of the Awful Hurricane — Unparalleled Atrocities 

by Lawless Hordes — Earnest Appeals for Help. ... 42 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Cry of Distress in the Wrecked City— Negro Vandals 
Shot Down— Progress of the Relief Work— Strict Mili- 
tary Rules 61 

CHAPTER V. 
Vivid Pictures of Suffering in Every vStreet and House — The 
Gulf City a Ghastly Mass of Ruins — The Sea Giving 
Up its Dead — Supplies Pouring in from Every Quarter. S6 

CHAPTER VI. 
Two Survivors Give Harrowing Details of the Awful Disas- 
ter— PI undreds Eager to Get out of Galveston — Clean- 
ing up the Wreckage 107 



xii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTKR VII. PAGE 

Not a House in Galveston Escaped Damage — Young and Old, 
Rich and Poor, Hurried to a Watery Grave — Citizens 
With Guns Guarding the Living and tiie Dead 129 

CHAPTKR VIII. 
Fears of Pestilence — Searching Parties Clearing away the 
Ruins and Cremating the Dead — Distracted Crowds 
W^aiting to Leave the City — Wonderful Escapes ... . 146 

CHAPTER IX. 

Story of a Brave Hero— A Vast Army of Helpless Victims 
— Scenes that Shock the Beholders — Our Nation Rises 
"^.o the Occasion 167 

CHAPTER X. 

Details of the Overwhelming Tragedy — The Whole City 
Caught in the Death Trap— Personal Experiences of 
Those Who Escaped — First Reports More than Con- 
firmed 191 

CHAPTER XL 

Galveston Calamity — One of the Greatest Known to His- 
tory — Many Thousands Maimed and Wounded — Few 
Heeded the Threatening Hurricane — The Doomed City 
Turned to Chaos 212 

CHAPTER XIL 

Thrilling Narratives by Eye-witnesses — Path of the Storms 
Fury Through Galveston — Massive Heaps of Rubbish — 
Huge Buildings Swept into the Gulf 234 

CHAPTER XHL 

Refugees Continue the Terrible Story — Rigid Military 
Patrol — The City in Darkness at Night — Hungry and 
Ragged Throngs 257 



CONTr.iS[TS. xiii 

CHAPTER XIV. PAGE 

Dead Babes Floating in tlie Water — Sharp Crack of Soldiers' 
Rifles— Tears Mingle With the Flood— Doctors and 
Nurses for the Sick and Dying 273 

CHAPTER XV. 

Family in a Tree-top All Night — Rescue of the Perish' .ng — 
Railroad Trains Hurrying Forward With Relief- 
Pathetic Scenes in the Desolate City 293 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Startling Havoc Made by the Angry Storm — Vessels Far 
Out on the Prairie — Urgent Call for Millions of Dollars 
— Tangled Wires and Mountains of Wreckage .... 318 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Governor Sayres Revises His Estimate of Those Lost and 
Makes it 12,000 — A Multitude of the Destitute — 
Abundant Supplies and Vast Work of Distribution . . 34c 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

An Island of Desolation — Crumbling Walls — Faces White 
With Agony — Tales of Dismay and Death — Curious 
Sights 360 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Thousands Died in Their Efforts to Save Others — Houses 
and Human Beings Floating on the Tide — An Army of 
Orphans — Greatest Catastrophe in Our History . . . . 377 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Storm's Murderous Fury — People Stunned by the Stag- 
gering Blow — Heroic Measures to Avert Pestilence — 
Thrilling Story of the Ursuline Convent 391 



yl^ CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXL 

Unparalelled Bombardment of Waves — Wonderful Courage 

Shown by the Survivors — Letter from Clara Barton . .416 

CHAPTER XXH. 

Galveston Storm Stories — Fierce Battles with Surging Waves 
— Vivid Accounts from Fortunate Survivors — A City of 
Sorrow 440 

CHAPTER XXHL 

Heroic Incidents — Arrival of Relief Trains — Hospitals for the 

Injured — Loud Call for Skilled Labor 461 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

One Hero Rescues Over Two Hundred — Traveler Caught in 
the Rush of Water — Report of a Government Official — 
How the Great Storm Started 477 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Storms of Great Violence Around Galveston — Wrecked Cities 
and Vast Destruction of Property — Appalling Sacrifice 
of Life 497 

Imprisoned by the Storm 509 

Names of the Victims of the Great Galveston Horror . . .517 




MEMBERS OF THE GALVESTON CENTRAL RELIEF COMMITTEE 

JUDGE NOAH ALLEN WILLIAM A. McVITIE RABBI HENRY COHEN 

I. H. KEMPNER chairman CLARENCE OUSLEY 

REV. J. M. K. KIRWIN B. ADOUE WILLIAM V. McCONN 

OF ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAl 




til a. 

z O 
111 o 

< 

z 
o 

I 

h 

O 
CO 

o 
z 

i^ 

o 
o 




M. P. MORRISSEY 

TRAFFIC MANAGER OF THE WILLIAM PARR & CO., GENERAL STEAMSHIP 

AGENTS, WHO FIRST SUGGESTED AND CARRIED INTO EFFECT THE 

BURIAL OF BODIES AT SEA AND THE BURNING OF OTHER BODIES 

DN SHORE TO SAVE THE SURVIVORS FROM PESTH ^NCE 




FIRE DEPARTMENT TAKING BODIES TO A MORGUE 




«ODlfcS AMONG RUINS-CMARACTERISTIC SCENE IN GALVESTON 




WRECKED RESIDENCES CORNER TWENTY-SEVENTH 
STREET AND AVENUE M 




REMOVING WRECKAGE IN «carcH OF DEAD BODIES 



CHAPTER I. 

First News of the Great Calamity — Galveston Almost 

Totally Destroyed by Winds and Waves. 

Thousands Swept to Instant Death. 

THE first news of the appalling calamity that fell like a thun- 
derbolt on Galveston came in the following despatch from 
the Governor of Texas : 

" Information has just reached me that about 3000 lives have 
been lost in Galvestou, with enormous destruction of property'- 
No information from other points. 

"JOSEPH D. SAYRES, Governor." 

This despatch was dated at Austin, Texas, September 9th. 
Further intelligence was awaited with great anxiety in all parts 
of the country. The worst was feared, and all the fears were 
mere than realized. Later intelligence showed that the West 
Indian storm which reached the Gulf coast on the morning of 
September 8th, wrought awful havoc in Texas. Reports were 
conflicting, but it was known that an appalling disaster had befal- 
len the city of Galveston, where, it was reported, a thousand or 
more lives had been blotted out and a tremendous property damage 
incurred. Meagre reports from Sabine Pass and Port Arthur also 
indicated a heavy loss of life. 

Among those who brought tidings from the sticken city of 
Galveston was James C. Timmins, who resides in Houston, and 
who is the General Superintendent of the National Compress 
Company. After Mr. Spillane he was one of the first to reach 
Houston with news of the great disaster which had befallen that 
city, and after all he reported it was evident that the magnitude 
of the disaster remained to be told. 

After remaining through the hurricane on Saturday, the 8th, 
he departed from Galveston on a schooner and came across the 
bay to Morgan's Point, where he caught a train for Houston. 
The hurricane, Mr. Timmins said, was the worst ever known. 
2 17 



18 



FIRST NEWS OF THE GREAT CALAMITY. 



The estimate made by citizens of Galveston was that 
four thousand houses, most of them residences, were destroyed, 
and that at least one thousand people had been drowned, killed 
or were missing. Business houses were also destroyed. These 
estimates, it was learned afterward, were far below the actual 
facts. 

The city, Mr. Timmins averred, was a complete wreck, so far 

as he could see from the water front and from the Tremont Hotel. 

Water was blown over the island by the hurricane, the wind 

blowing at the rate of eighty miles an hour straight from the 

6-ulf and forcing the sea water before it in big waves. The gale 

was a steady one, the heart of it striking the city about 5 o'clock 

in the evening and continuing without intermission until mid- 

night, when it abated somewhat, although it continued to blow 

all night. 

WORST HURRICANE EVER KNOWN. 

The water extended across the island. Mr. Timmins said 
it. was three feet deep in the rotunda of the Tremont Hotel, and 
was six feet deep in Market street. Along the water front the 
damage was very great. The roofs had been blown from all the 
elevators, and the sheds along the wharves were either wrecked 
or had lost their sides and were of no protection to the contents. 

Most of the small sailing craft were wrecked, and were either 
piled up on the wharves or floating bottom side up in the bay. 
There was a small steamship ashore three miles north of Pelican 
Island, but Mr. Timmins could not distinguish her name. She 
was flying a British flag. Another big vessel had been driven 
ashore tat Virginia Point, and still another was aground at Texas 
City. At the south point of Houston Island an unknown ship 
)ay in a helpless condition. 

The lightship that marks Galveston bar was hard and fast 
Aground at Bolivar Point. Mr. Timmins and the men with him 
on the schooner rescued two sailors from the Middle Bay who 
had been many hours in the water. These men were foreigners, 
and he could gain no information from them. 

A wreck of a vessel which looked like a large steam tug was 



FIRST NEWS OF THE GREAT CALAMITY. 19 

observed just before tbe party landed. In tbe bay the carcasses 
of nearly two hundred horses and mules were seen, but no human 
body was visible. 

The scenes during the storm could not be described. Women 
and children were crowded into the Tremont Hotel, where he was 
seeking shelter, and all night these unfortunates were bemoaning 
their losses of kindred and fortune. They were grouped about 
the stairways and in the galleries and rooms of the hotel. What 
was occurring in other parts of the city could only be con- 
jectured. 

The city of Galveston waslnow entirely submerged and cut 
off from communication. The boats were gone, the railroads 
could not be operated, and the water was so high people could not 
walk out by way of the bridge across the bay, even were the bridge 
standing. 

Provisions were badly needed, as a great majority of the 
people lost all they had. The water works' power house was 
wrecked, and a water famine was threatened, as the cisterns wfii\ 
all ruined by the overflow of salt water. This was regarded f ', 
the most serious problem to be faced. The city was in darkness, 
the electric plant having been ruined. 

BODIES FLOATING IN THE BAY. 

There was no way of estimating the property damage. The 
east end portion of the city, which was the residence district was 
practically wiped out of existence. , On the 'west end, which faces 
the gulf on another portion of the island, much havoc was done 
The beach was swept clean, the bath-houses were destroyed, and 
many of the residences were total wrecks. 

Among the passengers who arrived at Houston on a relief 
.train from Galveston was Ben Dew, an attache of the Southern 
Pacific. Dew had been at Virginia Point for several hours, 
and said that he saw loo to 150 dead bodies floating out on the 
beach at that place. 

Conductor Powers reported that twenty-five corpses had been 
recovered by the life-saving crew, many of them women ; that the 



20 FIRST NEWS OF THE GREAT CALAMITY. 

crew had reported tliat many bodies were floating, and that they 
were using every endeavor to get them all out of the water. The 
water swept across the island, and it is presumed that most of 
these were Galveston people, though none of them had been iden- 
tified. 

LOST WIFE AND SIX CHILDREN. 

One of the refugees who came in on the relief train and who 
had a sad experience was S. W. Clinton, an engineer at the fer- 
tilizing plant at the Galveston stock yards. Mr. Clinton's family 
consisted of his wife and six children. When his house was 
washed away he managed to get two of his little boys safely to a 
raft, and with them he drifted, helplessly about. His raft collided 
with wreckage of every description and was split in two, and he 
was forced to witness the drowning of his sons, being unable to 
help them in any way. Mr. Clinton says parts of the city were 
seething masses of water. 

From an eye-witness of the vast devastation we are able to 
give the following graphic account : 

"The storm that raged along the coast of Texas was the 
most disastrous that has ever visited this section. The wires are 
down, and there is no way of finding out just what has happened, 
but enough is known to make it certain that there has been great 
loss of life and destruction of property all along the coast and for 
a hundred miles inland. Every town that is reached reports one 
or more dead, and the property damage is so great that there is 
no way of computing it accurately. 

" Galveston remains isolated. The Houston Post and the 
Associated Press made eftbrts to get special trains and tugs to- 
day with which to reach the island city. The railroad companies 
declined to risk their locomotives. 

"It is known that the railroad bridges across the bay at 
Galveston are either wrecked or are likely to be destroyed with 
the weight of a train on them ; the approaches to the wagon 
bridge are gone and it is rendered useless. The bridge of the 
Galveston, Houston and Northern Railroad is standing, but the 
drawbridges over Clear creek and at Bdgewater are gone, and thf 



FIRST NEWS OF THE GR:eAT CALAMITY. 21 

road cannot get trains througli to utilize tlie bridge across 
the bay. 

" Sabine Pass bas not been beard from to-day (September 9tb). 
Tbe last news was received from there yesterday morning, and at 
that time the water was surrounding the old town at the pass, and 
the wind was rising and the waves coming high. From the new 
town, which is some distance back, the water had reached the 
■depot and was running through the streets. The 5)eople were 
leaving for the high country, known as the Black Ridge, and it 
is believed that all escaped. Two bodies have been brought in 
from Seabrooke, on Galveston Bay, and seventeen persons aie 
missing there. 

"In Houston the property damage is great, a conservative 
estimate placing it at $250,000. The Merchants' and Planters' 
Oil Mill was wrecked, entailing a loss of $40,000, The Dickson 
Car Wheel Works suffered to the extent of $16,000. The big 
Masonic Temple, which is the property of the Grand Lodge of the 
State, was partly wrecked. Nearly every church in the city was 
damaged. The First Baptist, Southern Methodist and Trinity 
Methodist, the latter a negro church, will have to be rebuilt before 
ihey can be used again. Many business houses were unroofed. 

MANY TOWNS DEMOLISHED. 

"The residence portion of the town presents a dilapidated 
appearance, but the damage in this part of the city has not been 
so great as in some others. The streets are almost impassable 
because of the litter of shade trees, fences, telephone wires and 
poles. Much damage was done to window glass and furniture. 
Many narrow escapes are recorded. 

" Another train has left here for Galveston, making the third 
to-day. The two preceding ones have not been heard from, as 
all wires are prostrated. 

" Meagre reports are arriving here from the country between 
Houston and Galveston, along the line of the Santa Fe 
Railroad. The tornado was the most destructive in the history 
of the State. 



22 FIRST NEWS OF THE GREAT CALAMITY. 

** The town of Alvin was practically demolislied. Hitcli- 
cock suffered severely from the storm, while the little town of 
Alta Loma is reported without a house standing. The town of 
Pearl has lost one-half of its buildings. 

"L. B. Carlton, the president of the Business League of 
Alvin, and a prominent merchant there, reports that not a build- 
ing is left standing in the town, either residence or business. 
Stocks of goods and house furniture are ruined, and crops 
are a total loss. Alvin is a town of about 1200 inhabitants. 

SANTA FE TRAIN BLOWN FROM THE TRACK. 

"The Santa Fe train which left here at 7.55 Saturday night, 
the 8th, was wrecked at a point about two miles north of Alvin. 
The train was running slowly when it encountered the h»avy 
storm. It is reported that the train was literally lifted from the 
track." 

A thrilling story was told by two men who floated across 
from Galveston to the mainland. It came in the form of a tele- 
.-'tam received at Dallas f"om Houston : 

" Relief train just returned. They could not get closer than 
six miles of Virginia Point, where the prairie was covered with 
lumber, debris, pianos, trunks, and dead bodies. Two hundred 
corpses were counted from the train. A large steamer is stranded 
two miles this side of Virginia Point, as though thrown up by a 
tidal wave. Nothing can be seen of Galveston. 

" Two men were picked up who floated across to the mainland, 
who say they estimate the loss of life up to the time they left at 
2000." 

The above message was addressed to Superintendent Felton, 
Dallas, and comes from Mr. Vaughn, manager of the Western 
Union office at Houston. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas north 
bound " flyer" was reported wrecked near Sayers. 

The office of the Western Union Telegraph Company at S". 
Louis was besieged with thousands of inquiries as to the extent 
and result of the terrible storm that cut off Galveston from com- 
munication with the rest of the world. Rumors of the most dire- 



FIRST NEWS OF THE GREAT CALAMITY. 23 

fill nature come from that part of Texas, some of tliem even 
intimating that Galveston liad been entirely wrecked and that the 
bay was covered with the dead bodies of its residents. Nothing 
definite, however, could be learned, as the Gulf city was entirely 
isolated, not even railroad trains being able to reach it. All the 
telegraph wires to Galveston were gone south of Houston, and to 
accentuate the serious condition of affairs the cable lines between 
Galveston and Tampico and Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, were severed ; 
at least no communication over them was possible. 

The Western Union had a large number of telegraph opera- 
tors and linemen waiting at Houston to go to Galveston, but it 
was impossible to get them there. San Antonio was being 
reached by El Paso, in the extreme southwestern portion of tf"^' 
State, a procedure made necessary by the prevailing storm. 

^A^ATER BLO'WN COMPLETELY OVER THE CITY. 

Mr. Joyce, another refugee from Galveston, made the follow 
ing statement : 

" The wind was blowing Saturday afternoon and night at 
about seventy-five miles an hour, blowing the water in the Gulf 
and completel}^ covering the city. The people of Galveston did 
not think it was much at first and kept within their homes, con- 
sequently when the wind began blowing as it did and the water 
dashed against the houses, completely demolishing them, many 
lives were lost. I have no idea how many were killed, but think 
there will be several thousand deaths reported, besides many 
people whom we will know nothing about. 

" I was in the storm which struck Galveston in 1875, but that 
one, bad as it was, was nothing in comparison with Saturday's." 

The following account of Galveston will be of interest to 
leaders in connection with the great disaster that has ruined that 
once prosperous and thriving city. 

Galveston is situated on an island extending east and west 
for twent}/ eeven miles, and is seven miles in its greatest width 
north and south. No city could be in greater danger from such 
a horrible nsitation as has now come to Galveston. In no part. 



24 FIRST NEWS OF THE GREAT CALAMITY. 

of the cit}^, witli its former 38,000 population, is it more than si:* 
feet above the sea level. 

The flat condition not only points to the desperate situation 
of the people at such a time as this, but their danger may be con- 
sidered emphasized when it is known that exactly where the city 
is built the island is only one and one-quarter miles wide. 

On the ba}^, or north side of the city, is the commercial sec- 
tion, with wharves stretching along for nearl}^ two miles, lined 
with sheds and large storage houses. Then, in that portion of 
Galveston, there are three elevators, one of 1,500,000 bushels 
capcity, one of 1,000,000 and the third of 750,000. 

A BRIDGE TWO MILES LONG. 

The island from the north side is connected with the main- 
land by railroad bridges and the longest wagon bridge in the 
world, the latter nearly two miles in length. In 1872 the entire 
east end of the city was swept away by the tidal wave that fol- 
lowed ci terrific storm that swept the Gulf coast for three days. 
Then the eastern land, on which buildings stood, was literally 
torn awa3^ The work of replacing it has since been going on, 
and Fort Point, that guards the entrance to the harbor, has since 
been built, and on its parapets are mounted some of the heaviest 
coast defense ordnance used by the government. By the force 
of the storm of 1872 six entire blocks of the city were swept 
away. 

It is on the south side of the city, beginning within fifty 
yards of the mediiim Gulf tide, that the wealthy residence portion 
of the city is located, and which was the first part of Galveston to 
be stricken by the full force of the storm and flood. All of the 
eastern end of the city was washed away, and in this quarter, 
between Broadway and I street, some of the handsomest and most 
expensive residence establishments are located. There was located 
there one home, which alone cost the owner over $1,000,000. 
Most of the residences are of frame, but there are many of stone 
and brick. In the extreme eastern end of the city there are 
many of what we call raised cottages. They are built on piling, 



FIRST NEWS OF THE GREAT CALAMITY. 25 

and stand from eight to ten feet from the ground as a precai ':ion 
against floods, it being possible for the water to sweep under tl .em. 
Any protection that has ever been provided for the Gulf side 
of the city has been two stone breakwaters, but many times, with 
ordinary storms coming in from the Gulf, the high tidewater has 
been hurled over the low stone walls right to the very doors of the 
residences. From Virginia Point, six miles from Galveston, in 
ordinary conditions of the atmosphere, the city can be pl-iinly 
seen. If it is true that Galveston cannot be now seen from the 
Point, then the conditions of the people in the city must be inde- 
scribably horrible. In short, a large part of the city is obliterated 
and has disappeared. 

VAST AMOUNT OF MONEY INVESTED. 

Mau}^ millions of dollars are invested in the wholesale and 
"^^tail business of the city. On Strand street alone there are 
ten blocks of business establishments that represent an inve;;ted 
capital of $127,000,000. Market street is the heavy retail stieet, 
and there, in the heart of the flooded district, the losses caunot 
but reach away into the millions. The fact, as indicated by the 
despatches, that water is standing six feet deep in the Tremont 
Hotel, furnishes startling evidence to me that Galveston has b^.en, 
indeed, dreadfully visited. The hotel is in almost exactly the 
centre of the city. Two years ago Galveston did the heaviest 
shipping business in cotton and grain of au}^ Southern city. When 
I was at home two shiploads of cattle were leaving the port on an 
average every week. 

Dr. H. C. Frankenfeld, forecast official of the Weather 
Bureau, gave an account of the West India hurricane Jhat travelled 
through Texas. The first sign of the storm was noticed August 
30 near the Windward Islands, about latitude 15 degrees north, 
longitude 63 degrees west. On the morning of August 31 it was 
still in the same latitude, but had moved westward to about longi- 
tude 67 degrees, or about 200 miles south of the island of Porto 
Rico. At that time, however, it had not assumed a ver}^ definite 
storm formation. It was central in the Caribbean Sea on the 



26 FIRST NEWS OF THE GREAT CALAMITY. 

morning of September ist, evidently about two hundred miles south 
of Santo Domingo City. 

It had reached a point somewhere to the southwest, and not 
very far from Jamaica, by September 2d. The morning of Sep- 
tember 3d found it about 175 miles south of the middle of Cuba. 
It had moved northwestward to latitude 21 degrees and longitude 
81 degrees by September 4th. Up to this time the storm had noi 
developed any destructive force but had caused heavy rains, par- 
ticularly at Santiago, Cuba, where 12.58 inches of rain fell in 
twenty-four hours. 

OMINOUS PROGRESS OF THE STORM. 

On the morning of the fifth, the storm centre had passed over 
Cuba and had become central betweenHavana and Key West. High 
winds occurred over Cuba during the night of the fourth. By 
the morning of the sixth the storm centre was a short distance 
northwest of Key West, Fla., and the high winds had commenced 
over Southern Florida, forty-eight miles an hour from the east 
being reported from Jupiter, and forty miles from the N. K. from 
Key West. At this time it became a question as to whether the 
storm would recurve and pass up along the Atlantic coast, a most 
natural presumption judging from the barometric conditions over 
the eastern portion of the United States, or whether it would con- 
tinue northwesterly over the Gulf of Mexico. 

Advisory messages were sent as early as September ist to 
Key West and the Bahama Islands, giving warning of the 
approach of the storm and advising caution to all shipping. The 
warnings were supplemented by others on the second, third, 
and fourth, giving more detailed information, and were gradually 
extended along the Gulf coast as far as Galveston and the Atlantic 
coast to Norfolk. 

On the afternoon of the fourth the first storm warnings were 
issued to all ports in Florida from Cedar Keys to Jupiter. On the 
fifth they were extended to Hatteras, and advisory messages issued 
along the coast as far as Boston. Hurricane warnings were also 
ordered displayed on the night of the fifth from Cedar Keys to 



FIRST NEWS OF THE GREAT CALAMITY. « 

Savannah. On the fifth storm warnings were also ordered dis- 
played on the Gulf coast from Pensacola, Fla., to Port Eads, La, 
During the sixth barometric conditions over the eastern portion 
of the United States so far changed as to prevent the movement 
of the storm along the Atlantic coast, and it therefore continued 
northwest over the Gulf of Mexico. 

On the morning of the seventh it was apparently central 
south of the Louisiana coast, about longitude 28, latitude 89. At 
this time storm signals were ordered up on the North Texas 
coast, and during the day were extended along the entire coast. 
On the morning of the eighth the storm was nearing the Texas 
coast, and was apparently central at about latitude 28, longitude 
94. The last report received from Galveston, dated 3.40 P. M., 
September 8, showed a barometric pressure of 29.22 inches, with 
a wind of forty-two miles an hour, northeast, indicating that the 
centre of the storm was quite close to that city. 

ALWAYS IN DANGER DURING A HURRICANE. 

At this time the heavy sea from the southeast was constantly 
rising and already covered the streets of about half the city. Up 
to Sunday morning no reports were received from southern Texas, 
but the barometer at Fort Worth gave some indications that the 
storm was passing into the southern portion of the State. An 
observation taken at San Antonio at 11 o'clock, but not received 
until half-past five, indicated that the centre of the storm had 
passed a short distance east of the place, and had then turned in 
the northward. 

Situated as Galveston is, with much of the shore but a few 
feet above the mean high water, there is so scant a margin of 
safety that, as was the case on the South Carolina Sea Islands on 
August 27, 1893, and among the bayous of Louisiana in October 
of the same year, any abnormal tide means death and destruc- 
tion. Sabine Pass is a mere sand spit, and Galveston Island) 
itself is but a few feet above the ocean level at the best, and is 
but three feet above high tide in many places. As the great 
storm wave raised by the cyclonic winds of the average hurricane 



2a FIRST NEWS OF THE GREAT CALAMITY. 

may easily liave a crest of from eiglit to nine feet, for a city such 
as Galveston this would be most ominous. 

Sucli a fate as an inundation during the prevalence of a hur- 
ricane has been forecast for the island city, whose population 
according to the new census is 37,789, many of whom live under 
conditions that invite loss of life in case of a tidal overflow. And 
<3^et, though such a disaster has been foreseen and forecast, the 
inertia of one's adherance to normal life and duties is such that 
even in the face of specific warning it is not likely any number 
would flee to the mainland. On September 8th, for instance, the 
Weather Bureau, which had not lost track of the storm, very cor- 
rectly pointed out that the hurricane was moving northwestward 
slowly, towards the Texas coast, Port Eads, La., giving a wind 
velocity of fifty-six miles an hour. Storm warnings were ordered 
for the eastern Texas and middle Gulf region, and high winds 
were specificall}^ forecast for the coast of eastern Texas. More 
the Bureau could not do, but it looks as if its warnings were in 

vain. 

THE FATEFUL WINDS GATHERING FORCE. 

U: .fortunately for Galveston, the slow movement of the hurri- 
cane was an additional menace, since this meant the longer pound- 
ing of the vertical winds of high velocities. As most readers 
know, the hurricane is a storm which has two entirely distinct 
motions. It is a great cyclonic whirl in which the winds blow 
into and about the centre at great velocities, while its motion along 
its track may be comparatively slow. 

In the present case it took the hurricane four days to cross 
the Gulf from Key West to Galveston, which was at a rate of 
,»bout twelve and one-half miles an hour. Its rotary winds, how- 
ever, even a hundred miles from the centre on Friday, were raging 
at a rate of over fifty miles, and as the vortex passed directly and 
slowly over Galveston, the buffeting of the winds beginning on 
Friday evening and continuing far into Saturday, must have been 
terrific. Moreover, as the whole of Galveston is built up of frame 
houses without cellars on uncertain foundations, the evil possi- 
bilities must be obvious. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Tale of Destruction Grows — A Night of Horrors — Suffer- 
ings of the Survivors — Relief Measures by the National 
Government. 

THE following graphic account of the terrible disaster is froniv 
the pen of an eye-witness, written within twenty-four hours 
after the city was struck by the hurricane : "No direct wire 
communication has been established between Dallas and Galves- 
ton, and such a connection Is not likely to be established earlier 
than to-morrow. The gulf coast, back for a distance of approxi- 
mately twenty miles, is one vast marsh, and in many places the 
water is from three to ten feet deep, making progress toward the 
stricken city slow and unremunerative in the matter of direct 
ixews. 

' Although Dallas is 300 miles from Galveston, all efforts for 
direct communication centre here, as it is the headquarters of the 
telegraph and telephone systems of the State. Hundreds of line- 
men were hurried to the front on Saturday night and Sunday 
morning from this city to try to put wire affairs in workable 

order. 

WIND STORM OF GIANT FORCE. 

" Less than half a dozen out of approximately half a hundred 
wires between Dallas and Houston have thus far been gotten into 
operation. This is because the wind storm extended inland with 
terrific force for a distance of 100 miles, and destroyed telegraphic, 
telephonic and railroad connections to such an extent as nearl}^ to 
paralyze these channels of communication. With the best of 
weather conditions, it will require several weeks to restore these 
systems to anything like their normal state. 

" Nothing like definite and tangible information is likely to be 
received from Galveston earlier than Wednesday or Thursday. 
All reliable information that has been received up to this hour 
comes from the advance guard of the relief forces and the linemen 
lent out by the railroad, telegraph and telephone companies. 

29 



30 A NIGHT OF HORRORS. 

" None of these reports place tlie number of dead at Galveston 
at less than 2000 ; some of them predict that 5000 will be nearer 
the mark. No one places the property loss at Galveston at less 
$10,000,000, while Manager Vaughn, of the Western Union office 
at Houston, wires Manager Baker at Dallas : ' Galveston as a 
business place is practically destroyed.' When the waters shall 
have receded it is feared Manager Vaughn will be found to be a 
wise prophet. Along the coast for 100 miles either way from 
Galveston is a district that is nearly as completely isolated as is 
Galveston itself In this territory are not less than 100 cities, 
villages and hamlets. Bach of these as far as heard from reports 
from two to twenty dead persons. 

OVER SEVEN HUNDRED CORPSES FOUND. 

" In a radius of approximately twenty miles from Virginia 
Point, the centre of railroad relief operations, up to late this after- 
noon more than 700 corpses had been washed ashore or picked up 
from the main land. Hitchcock, Clear Creek, Texas City, Virginia 
Point, Seabrook, Alvin, Dickinson and half a dozen other points 
midway between Houston and Galveston compose one vast morgue. 

" Down along the coast toward Corpus Christi and Rockport 
all is silence. Not a word had come from there up to this evening. 
The first news from that section is likely to come from San 
Antonio, as that is the most directly connected point with that 
section of the Gulf. An awful calamity, it is feared, will be 
chronicled when the report does come. 

"Telegraphic communication was opened late this afternoon 
with Beaumont and Orange on the other extreme end of rhe Gulf 
to the eastward of Galveston. The joyful news was contained that 
those two towns and Port Arthur were safe, but in the territory 
adjacent, forty miles wide and 100 miles long, many lives are 
Jielieved to have been lost and immense property damage sustained. 

" Conservative estimates of the property losses, including 
-:ommercial and other material interests at Galveston and Houston, 
put the total at from $40,000,000 to $50,000,000 for the State. 
This includes the damage to cotton, which is placed at 250,000 



A NIGHT OF HORRORS. Si 

bales. John Clay, one of the foremost men in the t:otton trade at 
Dallas, addressed wire inquiries to all accessible points in the 
cotton growing districts of Texas concerning crop losses. He 
states they will reach ten per cent, of the State's crop. Spot cotton 
sold at ten cents per pound on the market, an advance of half a ceut 
a pound over Saturday's best figures. 

RELIEF WORK STARTED. 

''Relief work for the Galveston sufferers started in Dallas 
vigorously on receipt of an appeal from Governor Sayers, The 
City Council appropriated $500. A mass meeting of citizens 
appointed soliciting committees, as did also the Odd Fellows and 
Knightg of Pythias. Fully $10,000 in cash had been subscribed 
by night. 

" A special train was started for Houston over the Houston 
and Texas Central Railroad carrying committees of Odd Fellows, 
Knights of Pythias and citizens to render aid and distribute 
relief in the storm districts. At the request of many persons in 
Dallas a telegram was sent to Governor Sayers by J. C. McNealus, 
Secretary of the Dallas County Democratic Executive Commit- 
tee, asking the Governor his idea as to calling an extra session of 
the Legislature. Governor Sayers this evening replied as follows : 

" ' Telegram received. I will do nothing until I can hear 
directly and authoritatively from Galveston except to call upon 
the people to render assistance.' 

" As there is approximately a surplus of $2,000,000 cash in 
the State Treasury, it is reasoned that the citizens of Texas would 
endorse the Governor's action should he conclnde to call a special 
session to furnish public relief to the stricken sections of the State. 

" A bulletin received at ^.he Hou?ton and Texas Central head- 

'quarters from the headquarters of the company in Houston stated 

that a courier from the relief force had just arrived. He stated 

that signal reports from men sent forward to Galveston Island to 

the relief parties on the main land read : 

" 'Sixty dead bodies in one block. Six hundred corpses recov- 
ered aud 400 more reported. People dying from injuries and sick- 



32 A NIGHT OF HORRORS. 

ness and for want of fresh water. Survivors threatened with star- 
vation and disease. Doctors, nurses and fresh water needed at 
once.' 

" The telegraph of&ces at Dallas have been besieged all day 
with men and women anxious to hear from friends who were in 
Galveston when the hurricane came on. Messages of inquiry have 
poured in from all parts of the United States. More than 10,000 
messages were piled up in the Dallas offices to-day from local and 
outside parties, and every telegraph operator has been kept busy, 
as long as he could work. The offices have uniformly had to 
inform the customers : ' We can't reach Galveston ; can onl}^ prom- 
ise to forward from Houston by boat as early as possible.' Not- 
withstanding discouragements of this kind, the customers have 
almost invariably insisted on having their messages sent. Some 
of the scenes at the local telegraph offices have been very pathetic. 

" A telegram was received from H. H. R. Green, son of Hetty 
Green, dated at Rockport, stating that Rockport had not been da m- 
aged by the storm, and that the visitors at the Tarpon Club House, 
on St. Joseph's Island, were safe. This news lessens the fear felt 
for the safety of the people living along the coast in the vicinity 
of Rockport and Corpus Christi. 

" Houston and Texas Central Railroad officials at noon re- 
ceived bulletins from their general offices in Houston that the loss 
of life will reach 3000 in Galveston. The Missouri, Kansas and 
Texas relief forces near Galveston and along the coast telegraphed 
at noon that the loss of life will not be less than 5000 and ma^^ 
reach 10,000." 

THE CITY IN RUINS. 

Richard Spillane, a well-known Galveston newspaper man andf 
day correspondent of the Associated Press in that city, who reached 
Houston September loth, after a terrible experience, gives the 
following account of the disaster at Galveston : 

" One of the most awful tragedies of modern times has visited 
Galveston. The city is in ruins, and the dead will number many 
thousands : I am just from the cit}-, having been commissioned by 



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A NIGHT OF HORRORS. 



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the Alayor and Citizens' Committee to get in touch with the out- 
side world and appeal for help. Houston was the nearest point at 
which working telegraph instruments could be found, the wires as 
well as nearly all the buildings between here and the Gulf of 
Mexico being wrecked. 

" When I left Galveston the people were organizing for the^ 
prompt burial of the dead, distribution of food and all necessary 
work alter a period of disaster. 

CITY TURNED INTO A RAGING SEA. 

_ '' The wreck of Galveston was brought about by a tempest so 
terrible that no words can adequately describe its intensity, and by 
a flood which turned the city into a raging sea. The Weather 
Bureau records show that the wind attained a velocity of eighty- 
four miles an hour when the measuring instrument hhv away, so 
It IS impossible to tell what was the maximum. 

" The storm began at 2 o'clock Saturday morning. Previous 
to that a great storm had been raging in the Gulf, and the tide was 
very high. The wind at first came from the north, and was in 
direct opposition to the force from the Gulf. Where the storm iu 
the Gulf piled the water up on the beach side of the city, the north 
wind piled the water from the bay onto the bay part of the city. 

" About noon it became evident that the city was going to be 
visited with disaster. Hundreds of residences along the beach 
front were hurridly abandoned, the families fleeing to dwelliuo-s in 
higher portions of the city. Every home was opened to"" the 
refugees, black or white. The winds were rising constantly and 
It rained m torrents. The wind was so fierce that the rain cut like 
a knife. 

" By 3 o'clock the waters of the Gulf and bay met, and by dark 
the entire city was submerged. The flooding of the electric light' 
plant and the gas plants left the city in darkness. To go upon 
the streets was to court death. The wind was then at cyclonic 
velocity, roofs, cisterns, portions of buildings, telegraph poles and 
walls were falling, and the noise of the wind and the crashing of 
buildings were terrifying in the extreme. The wind and waters 



34 A NIGHT OK HORROkS. 

rose steadil}^ from dark until 1.45 o'clock Sunda}^ morning. During 
all tins time tlie people of Galveston were like rats in a trap. The 
highest portion of the city was four to five feet under water, while 
in the great majority of cases the streets were submerged to a 
depth of ten feet. To leave a house was to drown. To remain 
was to court death in the wreckage. 

"Such a night of agony has seldom been equaled. Without 
apparent reason the waters suddenly began to subside at 1.45 A. M. 
Within twenty minutes they had gone down two feet, and before 
daylight the streets were practically freed of the flood-waters. In 
^he meantime the wind had veered to the southeast. 

VERY FEW BUILDINGS ESCAPED. 

** Very few if any buildings escaped injury. There is hardly 
a habitable dry house in the city. When the people who had 
escaped death went out at daylight to view the work of the tempest 
and floods they saw the most horrible sights imaginable. In the 
three blocks from Avenue N to Avenue P, in Tremont street, I saw 
eight bodies. Four corpses were in one yard. 

"The whole of the business front for three blocks in from the 
Gulf was stripped of every vestige of habitation, the dwellings, the 
great bathing establishments, the Olympia and every structure 
having been either carried out to sea or its ruins piled in a'pj^ramid 
far into the town, according to the vagaries of the tempest. The 
first hurried glance over the city showed that the largest structures, 
supposed to be the most substantially built, suffered the greatest. 

" The Orphans' Home, Twenty-first street and Aveniie M, fell 
like a house of cards. How many dead children and refugees are 
in the ruins could not be ascertained. Of the sick in St. Mary's 
Infirmary, together with the attendants, only eight are understood 
to have been saved. The Old Woman's Home, on Roosenburg 
aveue, collapsed, and the Roosenburg School-house is a mass of 
wreckage. The Ball High School is but an empty shell, crushed 
and broken. Every church in the city, with possibly one or twiz 
exceptions, is in ruins. 

" At the forts nearly all the soldiers are reported dead, they 



A iVKllir OK HORRORS. S5 

having been in temporal-}^ quarters, which gave thtini no protection 
against the tempest or flood. No report has been received from the 
Catholic Orphan Asylum down the island, but it seems impossible 
that it could have withstood the hurricane. If it fell, all the 
inmates were, no doubt, lost, for there was no aid within a mile. 

" The bay front from end to end is in ruins. Nothing but 
piling and the wreck of great warehouses remain. The elevators 
lost all their snperworks, and their stocks are damaged by water. 
The life-saving station at Fort Point was carried away, the crew 
being swept across the bay fourteen miles to Texas City. I saw 
Captain Haynes, and he told me that his wife and one of his crev/ 
^eie drowned. 

WRECKAGE SWEPT ACROSS THE BAY. 

'' The shore at Texas City contains enough wreckage to 
rebuild a city. Eight persons who were swept across the bay 
during the storm were picked up there alive. Five corpses were 
also picked up. There were three fatalities in Texas City. In 
addition to the living and the dead which the storm cast up at 
Texas City, caskets and coffins from one of the cemeteries at 
Galveston were being fished out of the water there yesterday. In 
the business portion of the city two large brick buildings, one 
occupied by Knapp Brothers and the other b}^ the Cotton Exchange 
saloon, collapsed. In the Cotton Exchange saloon there were about 
fifteen persons. Most of them escaped. 

" The cotton mills, the bagging factory, the gas works, the 
electric light works and nearl}^ all the industrial establishments of 
the city are either wrecked or crippled. The flood left a slime about 
one inch deep over the whole city, and unless fast progress is made 
in burying corpses and carcasses of animals there is danger of 
pestilence. Some of the stories of the escapes are miraculous. 
William Nisbett, a cotton man, was buried in the ruins of the 
Cotton Exchange saloon, and when dug out in the morning had no 
further injury than a few bruised fingers. 

" Dr. vS. O. Young, Secretary of the Cotton Exchange, was 
knocked senseless when his house collapsed, but was revived by 



afi A NIGHT OF HORRORS. 

die water, and was carried ten blocks b}^ the hurricane. A woman 
who had just giveu birth to a child was carried from her home to 
a house a block distant, the men who were carrying her having to 
hold her high above heads, as the water was five feet deep when 
she was moved. 

" Man}^ stories were current of houses falling and inmates 
escaping. Clarence N. Ousley, editor of the Evening Tribune, 
had his family and the families of two neighbors in his house when, 
the lower half crumbled and the upper part slipped down into the 
water. No one in the house was hurt. 

"The Mistrot House, in the West End, was turned into a hos- 
pital. All of the regular hospitals of the city were unavailable, 
Of the new Southern Pacific AVorks little remains but the piling. 
Half a million feet of lumber was carried awa}^, and Engineer 
Boschke says, as far as the company is concerned, it might as well 
start over again. 

EIGHT OCEAN STEAMERS STRANDED. 

" Eight ocean steamers were torn from their moorings anfl 
stranded in the bay. The Kendall Castle was carried over the 
flats at Thirty-third street wharf to Texas Cit}^, and lies in the 
wreckage of the Inman pier. The Norwegian steamer Gj^ller is 
stranded between Texas City and Virginia Point. An ocean liner 
was swirled around through the west bay, crashed through the ba}^ 
bridges, and is now lying in a few feet of water near the wreckage 
of the railroad bridges. 

" The steamship Taunton was carried across Pelican Point and 
is stranded about ten miles up the east bay. The Mallory steamer 
Alamo was torn from her wharf and dashed upon Pelican flats, and 
against the bow of the British steamer Red Cross, which had prcr 
viously been hurled there. The stern of the Alamo is stove in 
and the bow of the Red Cross is crushed. Down the channel to 
the jetties two other ocean steamships lie grounded. Some schoon- 
ers, barges and smaller craft are strewn bottom side up along the 
slips /the piers. The tug Louise, of the Houston Direct Naviga- 
tion Company, is also a wreck 



A NIGHT OF HORRORS. 3? 

" It will take a week to tabulate the dead aud the missing and 
to get anything near an approximate idea of the monetar}^ loss. 
It is safe to assume that one-half the property of the city is wiped 
out, and that one-half of the residents have to face absolute poverty. 

" At Texas City three of the residents were drowned. One 
man stepped into a well by a mischance and his corpse was found 
there. Two other men ventured along the bay front during the 
height of the storm and were killed. There are but few buildings 
at Texas City that do not tell the story of the storm. The hotel 
is a complete ruin. The office of the Texas City Company was 
almost entirely destroyed. Nothing remains of the piers except 
the piling. 

" The wreckage from Galveston litters the shore for miles and 
is a hundred yards wide. For ten miles inland from the shore it 
is a common sight to see small craft, such as steam launches, 
schooners and oyster sloops. The life boat of the life-saving sta- 
tion was carried half a mile inland, while a vessel that was anchored 
in Moses Bayou lies high and dry five miles up from La Marquet. 

MULTITUDES SWEPT OUT TO SEA. 

" From Virginia Point north and south along the bay front, 
at such places as Texas City, Dickinson, Hitchcock, Seabrook, 
Alvin and a dozen small intermediate points, the number of dead 
bodies gathered up by rescue trains and sailing craft had rtached 
at noon more than 700. This is only a small scope of the country 
devastated, and it is feared the death list from the storm will ulti- 
mately show not less than 5000 victims. Hundreds have been 
swept out to sea who will never be accounted for. Two mass 
meetings were held at Dallas, and many thousands of dollars Avere 
subscribed for the relief of the Texas Gulf coast storm sufferers." 

The towns of Sabine Pass and Port Arthur, news from which 
was anxiously awaited, passed through the terrific storm virtually 
unscathed. At Port Arthur the water spread over the town, but it 
did not reach a depth sufficient to destroy buildings. The town 
pleasure pier was washed away completely, as was also the pier in 
front of the Gales and Blwood Homes. The dredge Florida, prop- 



S8 A NIGHT OF HORRORS. 

ert}^ of the New York Dredging Company, which cut the Port 
Arthur Channel, sunk at the mouth of Taylor Bayou. No other 
properl}^ of consequence was injured. 

At Sabine Pass the water reached a depth of about three feet, 
but nothing except small buildings near the water-front were 
washed away. Several mud-scowls and sloops were washed ashore. 
The Southern Pacific wharves and warehouses were not damaged 
in the least. The railroad between Beaumont and Sabine Pass was 
nnder water for a distance of twelve miles, but not more than four 
miles were washed out. The life-saving station of Sabine Pass was 
washed from its blocks, but the light tower was not damaged. 
There was considerable damage at Sabine Pass by water rising into 
the streets. 

ARMY TENTS AND RATIONS FOR THE SUFFERERS. 

The officers of the National Government took steps at once to 
render all possible aid and assistance to the flood-sufferers of 
Texas. The President sent telegrams of sympathy to the Gov- 
ernor of the State and the Ma3^or of Galveston, and promised to 
render all possible relief. Adjutant-General Corbin also tele- 
graphed instructions to General McKibbin, commanding the De- 
partment of Texas at San Antonio, to proceed to Galveston and 
investigate the character and extent of the damage caused by the 
hurricane, and to report to the Secretary of War what steps were 
necessary to alleviate the sufferings of the people and improve the 
situation. 

Battery O, First iVrtillery, which garrisoned Fort San Jacinto, 
was commanded by Captain William C. Rafferty. First Lieutenant 
Lassiter was on detail duty at West Point, but the Second Lieu- 
tenant, J. C. Nichols, was with his company during the storm. Act- 
ing Secretary of the Treasury Spalding ordered two revenue cutters, 
one at Norfolk and one at Wilmington, N. C, to proceed at once to 
Mobile, Ala., and there await orders. They were needed in sup- 
plying food and tents to the storm-sufferers. 

Governor Sa3^ers, of Texas, applied to the War Department 
for 10,000 tents and 50,000 rations for immediate use for the 



A NIGHT OF HORRORS. 39 

sufferers. Acting Secretary IMciklejohii issued an order granting 
the request. The tents were sent from San Antonio and Jefferson 
Barracks, ]\Iissouri. A large portion of the rations was procured 
at San Antonio. 

AN APPEAL FROM HOUSTON. 

The following telegrams passed between the White House and 
Texas : 

" Houston, Texas, September lo. — William McKinley, Presi- 
dent of the United States, Washington, D. C. : I have been depu- 
tized by the Mayor and Citizens' Committee of Galveston to inform 
you that the city of Galveston is in ruins, and certainly many 
hundreds, if not a thousand, are dead. The tragedy is one of the 
most frightful in recent times. Help must be given by the State 
and Nation or the suffering will be appalling. Food, clothing and 
money will be needed at once. The whole south side of the city 
for three blocks in from the Gulf is swept clear of every building, 
the whole wharf front is a wreck and but few houses in the city are 
really habitable. The water supply is cut off and the food stock 
damaged by salt water. All bridges are washed awaj^, and stranded 
steamers litter the bay. When I left this moring the search for 
bodies had begun. Corpses were everywhere. Tempest blew 
eighty-four miles an hour, and then carried Government instru- 
ments away. At same time waters of Gulf were over whole city, 
having risen twelve feet. Water has now subsided, and the survi- 
vors are left helpless among the wreckage, cut off from the world 
except by boat. Richard Spillane." 

" Washington, September lo. — Hon. J. D. Sayers, Governor of 
Texas, Austin, Texas : The reports of the great calamity which 
has befallen Galveston and other points on the coast of Texas 
excite my profound sympathy for the sufferers, as they will stir 
the hearts of the whole country. Whatever help it is possible to 
give shall be gladly extended. Have directed the Secretary of 
War to supply rations and tents upon your request. 

" William McKinley." 



4') A NIGHT OF HORRORS. 

A copy of this telegram was sent to the Mayor of Galveston 
as well as to Governor Sayers. 

" Austin, Texas, September lo. — The President, Washington : 
Very many thanks for your telegram. Your action will be greatU 
appreciated and gratefully remembered by the people of Texas 
I have this day requested the Secretary of War to forward rations 
and tents to Galveston. JOvSPEPH D. Sayers, 

"Governor of Texas." 

CLARA BARTON READY FOR RELIEF WORK. 

Miss Clara Barton issued the following appeal in behalf of the 
Texas sufferers : 

"The American National Red Cross, at Washington, D. C, is 
appealed to on all sides for help and for the privilege to help in 
the terrible disaster which has befallen Southern and Central 
Texas, It remembers the floods of the Ohio and Mississippi, of 
Johnstown, and of Port Royal, with their thousands of dead and 
months of suffering and needed relief, and turns confidently to the 
people of the United States, whose sympathy has never failed to 
help provide the relief that is asked of it now. Nineteen years of 
experience on nearl}^ as many fields renders the obligations of tlie 
Red Cross all the greater. The people have long learned its 
work, and it must again open its accustomed avenues for their 
charities. It does not beseech them to give, for their sympathies 
are as deep and their humanity as great as its own, but it pledges 
to them faithful old-time Red Cross relief work among the stricken 
victims of these terrible fields of suffering and death. 

" He gives twice who gives quickly. 

" Contributions may be wired or sent by mail to our Treasurer, 
William J. Flather, ^Assistant Cashier Riggs National Bank, Wash- 
ington, D. C. ; also to the local Red Cross committees of the Red 
Cross India Famine Fund, at 156 Fifth avenue. New York City, and 
the Louisiana Red Cross of New Orleans, both of whom will report 
all donations for immediate acknowledgment by us. 

"Clara Barton, 

" President National American Red Cross." 



A NICIHT OK HORRORS. 41 

Miss Barton telegraphed Governor Sa^'ers, at Austin, Tex., as 
follows : 

" Do 3^ou need tlie Red Cross in Texas ? We are ready." 

THE DESTRUCTION INLAND. 

Later details show that from Red River on the north to the 
Gulf on the south and throughout the central part of the State, 
Texas was storm-swept b}^ a hurricane which laid waste property, 
caused large loss of life, and effectually blocked all telegraphic and 
telephonic communication south, while the operation of trains was 
seriously handicapped. 

Starting with the hurricane which visited Galveston and the 
Gulf coast Saturda}'' noon, and v/hich was still prevailing there to 
such an extent that no communication could be had with the island 
to ascertain what the loss to life and property was, the storm made 
rapid inroads into the centre of the State, stopping long enough at 
Houston to damage over half of the buildings of that city. 

Advancing inland, the storm swept into Hempstead, fifty miles 
above Houston, thence to Chappell Hill, twenty miles further; 
thence to Brenham, thirty miles further, wrecking all three towns. 
Several persons were killed. 

The Brazos bottom suffered a large share of damage at the 
hands of the hurricane, and was swept for fully loo miles of its 
length, everything being turned topsy-turvy by the high winds, and 
much destruction resulting to crops as well as farm-house property. 
The winds were accompanied by a heavy rainfall, which served to 
add to the horror of midnight. The telegraph and telephone com- 
panies have large forces of men trying to rig up wires to Galveston. 
The storm seems to have swept all the tableland clear of ever3^thing' 
on it, razing houses to the ground and tearing up trees by the roots. 
It also swept into the mountain gorges and there inflicted the worst 
damage, and considerable loss of life was reported from that sec- 
tion. From Southwest Texas and points along the Gulf to the city 
of Galveston the reports were alarming. A number of parties sum- 
mering at various points along the coast were not heard from. The 
cotton was nearly ruined, as the storm swept the cotton-belt. 



CHAPTER III. 

Incidents of the Awful Hurricane — Unparalleled Atrocities 
by Lawless Hordes — Earnest Appeals for Help. 

ON September nth, the Mayor of Galveston forwarded the 
following address to the people of the United States : 

" It is my opinion, based on personal information, that 500O 
people have lost their lives here. Approximately one-third of the 
residence portion of the city has been swept away. 

''There are several thousand people who are homeless and 
destitute. How many, there is no way of finding out. Arrange- 
ments are now being made to have the women and children sent 
to Houston and other places, but the means of transportation are 
Hniited. Thousands are still to be cared for here. We appeal to 
you for immediate aid. WALTER C. JONES." 

On the same date the following statement of conditions at 
Galveston and appeal for aid was issued by the local relief com- 
mittee : 

" A conservative estimate of the loss of life is that it will 
reach at least 5,000, and at least that number of families are 
shelterless and wholly destitute. The entire remainder of the 
population is suffering in a greater or less degree. Not a single 
church, school or charitable institution, of which Galveston had 
so many, is left intact. Not a building escaped damage, and half 
the whole number were entirely obliterated. There is immediate 
need for food, clothing and household goods of all kinds. If 
nearby cities will open asylums for women and children, the situ- 
ation will be greatly relieved. Coast cities should send us water,, 
as well as provisions, including kerosene, oil, gasoline and 
candles. 

"W. C. Jones, mayor; M. Lasker, president Island City 
Saving Bank; J. D. Skinner, president Cotton Exchange; C. H. 
McMaster, for Chamber of Commerce; R. G. Lowe, manager 

42 



INCIDEN^b Or THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 43 

Galveston News* Clarence Owsley, manager Galveston Tri- 
bune." 

The white cotton screw men's organization held a meeting 
and tendered their services, that of 500 able bodied men, to the 
public committee to clear the streets of debris. Big forces went 
to work, and the situation was much improved so far as the 
passage of vessels was concerned. The city was patrolled by 
regular soldiers and citizen soldiery. No one was allowed on the 
streets without a pass. Several negroes were shot for not halting 
when ordered. 

The steamer Lawrence arrived here early on the morning of 
the nth, from Houston, with water and provisions. A committee 
of one hundred citizens were aboard, among them being doctors 
and cooks. W. G. Van Vleck, General Manager .of the Southern 
Pacific Railroad, arrived at the same time. He thought it would 
be possible to establish mail service from Houston to Texas <^^-ity 
by night, with transfer boats to Galveston. 

BODIES BEING BURIED IN TRENCHES. 

It was found to be impossible to send bodies to sea for burial. 
The water receded so far, however, that it was possible to dig 
trenches, and bodies were being buried where found. Debris cov- 
ering bodies was being burned where it could be done safely. 

Work on the water works was rushed, and it was hoped to be 
able to turn a supply on in the afternoon. 

Outside of Galveston smaller towns were beginning to send 
in reports as telegraphic communication improved, and many 
additions to the list of the dead and property losses were received. 
Richmond and Hitchcock each reported sixteen lives lost. Alto 
Loma, Arcadia, Velasco, Seabrooke, Belleville, Areola and many 
other towns had from one to eight dead. In most of these places 
many houses were totally destroyed and thousands of head of live 
stock killed. 

The railroads alone suffered millions of dollars in actual 
damage, to say nothing of the loss from stoppage of business. 
The International and Great Northern and Santa Fe had miles of 



44 INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 

track washed out, and the bridges connecting Galveston with the 
mainland must be entirely rebuilt. 

The following is the description of an eye-witness on Se;Aeni- 
ber II : " Galveston is almost wiped off the earth. Fifteen thou- 
sand persons are homeless. The loss of life Mill reach into the 
thousands. Bodies are piled ever3'where. 

" When da3'light broke over the expanse of floating bodies, 
rubbish heaps and ruins were all that remained of the prosperous 
cit3\ A few leading citizens assembled in several feet of water 
at a street corner and called a meeting at the Tremont Hall, to 
which they adjourned. A committee of Public Safety of fifteen 
leading citizens was formed, and Colonel J. H. Hawle}^ one of 
the best known men in Tex?.s, was made chairman. lie, with 
Mayor Walter C. Jones and Chief of Police Edward Ketch uni, 
formed a triumvirate, with absolute power, and declared the city 
under martial law. 

MILITARY FORCES AND SPECIAL POLICE. 

''They issued a commission to Major L. R. D. Fayling, 
which made him commander-in-chief of all military forces and 
special deputies of police, and only subject to the orders of the 
Mayor and the Chief of Police. Mayor Fayling was authorized 
to requisition any men or property he ma}' require for his force, 
and his receipt will be honored b}^ the city of Galveston and any 
such property paid for b}^ the cit}-. 

" As soon as ]\Iajor Fayling received his authority he col- 
lected a handful of half-naked, barefooted soldiers, clothed them, 
supplied them with food and put them under command of Captain 
Edward Rogers. Around this nucleus of a force he has built up 
to meet the necessities of the situation his present force of three 
full companies of volunteer soldiers and a troop of cavahy. 

"A horde of negroes and whites — even white women — were 
in the ruins of the city. They were robbing the dead and dying, 
killing those who resisted, cutting off fingers to obtain rings and 
ears to obtain earrings. Drunken men reeled about the streets 
intimidating citizens. 



INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 4.*) 

" Chief of Police Ketcluiin ordered the sale of liquor stopped, 
and began to swear in hundreds of special policemen to rescue the 
woimded, feed the living and convc}^ the dead to a hundred differ- 
ent morgues. He worked for thirty-six hours without going home 
to inquire about his famil^^'s fate, which was in doubt. When 
told he should do so he replied, characteristicall}^, ' God will be 
good to me and mine, for I am going to be good to others.' 

THE STENCH UNBEARABLE. 

" The stench from the dead b}^ Monday morning was unbear- 
able. The triumvirate ruling the city pressed citizens into service 
to take the dead out in barges and bury them in the Gulf The 
soldiers impressed into service, at the point of the bayonet, every 
wagon that came along and every negro to assist in throwing the 
dead into the sea. It was impossible to give other burial. 

" From the stench which pervades the city it is apparent that 
hundreds of bodies yet lie under the ruins. The sun is hottei 
than in July. The regular soldiers, who had been working for 
two days with bloody feet, were utterly exhausted by Alonday 
evening, and were assembled by Captain Rafferty and put in a 
hastily extemporized hospital, \vhich was formerly a church. 
Their places were filled by Major Fajding with new recruits, 
whom he drafted on the streets and supplied with arms and equip- 
ment from the local armory. 

"Every part of the city was patrolled by 6 o'clock in the 
evening. Among many other incidents of last night was the 
besieging of the squad guarding St. Mary's Hospital. They 
were surrounded by a horde of armed negro thieves. Several 
hundred shots were exchanged. Sergeant Camp killed four 
negroes with his rifle, and about ten or twelve were killed by the' 
squad. The soldiers have since been picketing the city, doing 
foiirteen hours' dut}^ without rest. Every hour during the night 
a fresh negro shooting was reported at headquarters. 

"The tug 'Juno ' and the propeller ' Lawrence' brought 2000 
gallons of water here from Houston but the supply is not enough to 
go around, and half the population is without any water. Break- 



46 INCIDENTS OF THE AWF7L HURRICANE. 

fast at the $4 per da}' hotel Tremonl was served to a forturia':e 
few to-day, and consisted of a small piece of bacon and a single '?np 
of coffee. The hotel was nnteuable yesterdpy, and gnests were 
refnsed. It is jammed to-day w^th local eitiz^,ns who have been 
made homeless.'' 

G. W. Ware, teacher of penmanship in a Da'las educational 
institntion, was in Galvestou during the hnrricane. He reached 
Dallas on Tuesday, the iith^ and made the following statement : 

WORK OF HEAFTLESS CRIMINALS. 

"It was a godsend, the placing of the cit}^ nnder martial law. 
The criminal element began looting the dead, and the coldblooded 
commercial element began looting the livmg. The criminals 
were stealing an3^thing the}^ conld wif"h safety lay hands on, and 
the mercenary commercial pirates began a harvest of extortion- 
The price of bacon was pushed up to 50 ce.'i.ts a pound, bread 60 
cents a loaf, and owners of small schooners and other sailing craft 
formed a trust, and charged $8 a passenger foi transportation 
across the bay from the island to the mainland. 

" Mayor Jones and other men of conscience were shocked at 
these proceedings, and the Mayor decided that the only protection 
for the citizens would be to declare mart'al law, confiscate all food- 
stuffs and other necessities for the common good, and thus stop 
the lootings and holdups. 

" The price of bread was reduced to 10 cents a loaf, bacon was 
placed at 15 cents a pound, and the price of a voyage across the 
bay was set at $1.50 a passenger. A book account is being kept 
of all sales of foodstuffs, and other transactions and settlements 
will ])e made at the scheduled rates." 

Mr. Quinlan, General Manager of the Houstoii and Texas 
Central Railroad, said : 

"It is in such cases as this Galveston disaster that the bar- 
barity in some men is seen. I have seen enough in the last two 
days to convince me that a large element of civilized mankind are 
veneered savages. M}^ polic}^ would be to take nobody into Gal- 
vestou except such persons as are absolutely needed to administer 



INCIDENTS or THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 4? 

to the distressed. Thousands of residents of Galveston o Light to 
be brought out of there as fast as boats can bring them to the 
mainland, and establish them in charit}^ or detention camps on 
high ground, where they can get pure air and water and receive 
attention which cannot be given to them on the island. 

" I hope Governor Sayres will find authorit}^ to enforce somt 
such policy. This relief work is going to be an all-winter task. 
Persons who have lost homes and places of business must be taken 
charge of until they can properly take care of themselves." 

THE FINANCIAL OUTCOME. 

The effect that Galveston's disaster may have upon the finan- 
cial obligations of that cit}^ was an interesting topic among local 
financiers. Whether the bonds will be paid when due or whether 
interest default will result when coupons are presented is a mooted 
question in certain circles. J. B. Adone, banker, of Dallas, and 
former member of the old banking firm of Flippin, Adone & 
Lobit, of Galveston, said concerning these points : 

" Galveston's bond and interest obligations will be promptly 
met, I feel sure. If left to their own resources in the face of the 
present calamity, the people of Galveston and their public ofiicials 
would be probably temporarily embarrassed, but there will be no 
repudiation or defalcation. The people of Texas will respond to 
the needs of Galveston in her present terrible affliction, and out of 
the moneys contributed the city's financial credit will be protected 
if this course should be found necessary." 

Pursuant to the proclamation of Mayor Brashear, issued 
Sunday night, a citizens' meeting was held in the city council 
chamber at Houston and an organization effected for the relief of 
}he victims of the storm. The following telegram was received 
f)y the Mayor from Governor Sayres : 

"Austin, Texas, Sept. lo. — I have taken the liberty of direct- 
ing that all supplies of food and clothing for Galveston be shipped 
to you. Will you undertake to forward them when received to 
GaU^eston for distribution? Answer quick. 

"JOSEPH D. SAYRES, Governor." 



4^ INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL MURRICANE. 

Mayor Brashear immediately replied that all supplies would 
be distributed where mostly needed. A telegram from Areola was 
received, and there were twenty-five persons there, mostly women 
and children, in urgent need of relief. 

TENTS AND RATIONS SENT. 

Orders were issued by the War Department at Washington^ 
for the immediate shipment to Galveston of 855 tents and 50,000 
rations. These stores and supplies were divided between St. 
Louis and San Antonio. This represented about all such sup- 
plies as the Government had on hand at the places named, but 
it was stated at the Department that the order could be duplicated 
in a da}^ 

Mayor Van Wyck, of New York, issued an appeal to the citi- 
zens of New York, on the nth, for help for the sufferers of Galves- 
ton, heading the appeal with a $500 subscription. 

The Mayor also sent the following telegram to Ma3^or 
Brashear, of Houston, Texas: 

"Hon. S. E. Brashear, Mayor, Houston, Texas. — In response 
to your telegram I have issued a call to the people of the cit}^ of 
New York to contribute to the relief of those afflicted by the dis- 
aster at Galveston. Please express to the Mayor of Galveston 
the profound sympathy of the people of New York for the people 
of Galveston in this hour of their distress. 

" ROBERT A. VAN WYCK, Mayor." 

Ten doctors and twenty nurses from Bellevue Hospital, New 
York, volunteered to go to Galveston and help care for the injured 
and sick. They left New York by special train in the evening. 

The following cablegram was received by the American rep- 
resentative of Sir Thomas Lipton : 

" Ver}^ grieved to see press reports heie regarding fearful 
calamity befallen Galveston. Sufferers have my deepest and most 
heartfelt sympathy. If getting up public subscription will be 
glad to give $1000. 

"EIPTON.'" 



INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 46 

This was a graceful act of sympathy from the gallant yachts- 
man who made the spirited attempt to capture the cup from the 
New York Yacht Club, aud although failing, became a universal 
favorite in this country.^ 

Official reports from Galveston to Governor Sayres at Austin, 
on the nth, were that 400 bodies had been identified. 200 more 
were in an improvised morgue awaiting identification, and mau}^ 
more were thought to have drifted out to sea, aud their identity 
will never be known. 

CONDITIONS THA-i BEGGAR DESCRIPTION. 

A telegram from Adjutant General Scurr}^, who was at Gah 
veston, to the Governor, was as follows: 

'' Have just returned from Texas City with several Galveston 
parties, who assure me that conditions there beggar description. 
Accounts have not been exaggerated. While a portion of the 
provisions has been destroyed by water sufficient on hand to 
relieve immediate necessities. The citizens seem to have the 
situation well in hand. United States troops and Compau}^ C., 
volunteer guard, with citizens, patrol the streets to prevent 
looting. 

" I requested W. B. Wortham to go to Galveston from Texas 
City for the purpose of advising me of the city's most urgent 
needs, and I returned here to report and ask for further instruc- 
tions. I respectfully suggest that the distress is too great for 
the people of Galveston, even with the assistance of Houston, to 
stand, and that a general appeal for help would be welcomed. 
The estimate of 10,000 destitute does not seem to be excessive. 

'' From reports reaching the Governor this morning it will be 
necessary to co-operate with the Federal troops to place all the 
mainland opposite Galveston, as well as the island, under martial 
law. 

" Thieves have begun to enter the city for the purpose of 
pilfering the bodies of the dead. The Governor has been informed 
that the commander of the Texas troops has been ordered to Gal- 
veston by the Federal authorities, and the Governor will lend him 



50 INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 

every assistance possible with State militia to keep vandalism 
down. There is oul}^ one road operating to the coast from Hons- 
ton, and that will be placed nnder militar}^ snpervision temporaril}'. 

" Governor Sayres was in receipt of a telegram from Miss 
Barton, of the Red Cross Society, offering the assistance of that 
'association if necessary, and he replied that he would call on the 
society if he found that its help was needed. 

"A large number of State militia tents were shipped from 
Austin to Galveston for temporary use on the island. 

MONEY BEGINNING TO POUR IN. 

"Governor Sa3^res received upward of looo telegrams during 
the day from parties in the East and West offering assistance to 
the flood sufferers at Galveston, and from various portions of the 
State reporting the collection of money and supplies. During 
the da}^ Governor Sa3'res estimated that the receipts in money 
from collections in Texas would amount to $15,000, though from 
reports a great deal of nione}^ has been sent direct to Galveston 
instead of coming through the Governor, and the amount ma}^ be 
much larger than that stated. 

" Quite a number of Eastern newspapers are wiring the 
Governor offering to establish themselves as bureaus for relief 
funds if desired and asking what they can do to relieve the situ- 
ation. A telegram from New York informed the Governor that 
two relief trains of supplies had left New York for Galveston. 
The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce wires that it wall send any 
relief desired that it can give. Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis 
and several other points did likewise." 

Acting Secretary Meiklejohn of the War Department at 
XVashington authorized the chartering of a special train from St. 
Louis to carry quartermaster's and commissar}^ supplies to the 
relief of the destitute at Galveston. 

The following telegram was received : 

" Galveston, Texas, Sept. 9, 1900. — Quartermaster General, 
Washington.- -T report terrific rvcloue with an eleven foot tide. 



INCIDENTS OF THK AWFUL HURRICANE. 51 

All improvements, temporary buildings, property and stores at 
both Jacinto and Crockett destroyed and swept clean. 

'^ BAXTER, Quartermaster." 

A second telegram followed : 

"Galveston, Texas, Sept. ii, 1900. — Referring to my tele- 
gram of yesterda}^, via Houston, I urgently recommend tliat fair 
compensation be made to contractors for their losses, and that 
the}^ be relieved of their contracts. If fortifications are rebuilt at 
or near their present sites I urgently recommend that quarters for 
Iroops be purchased and built on higher ground in the city, cen- 
, t rally located. Wharves destroyed; all railroad bridges swept away 
and building operations of any nature cannot be resumed under 
six weeks or two months." 

A VOICE FROM JOHNSTOWN. 

Mayor Woodruff, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, issued the 
following proclamation: "Later and more definite information of 
the fearful destruction of life and property at Galveston and other 
places in Texas recalls to our attention the awful calamit}^ in 
Johnstown and vicinit}' eleven 3^ears ago. Whole squares of 
homes have been swept away, hundreds of dead are lying un- 
buried and thousands of people destitute. This would be a fit- 
ting time to show our gratitude for what the world did for us in 
the hour of need. Any contributions left at the banks in this 
city will be acknowledged and promptl}^ forwarded to the author- 
ities in charge of the work of relief Already over $200 without 
any "all for aid has been subscribed to a relief fund." 

A special despatch from Galveston tells the following story of 
the great calamity, showing that scarcely a building was undam- 
aged or a family that did not lose one or more members. It is 
roughh' estimated that the death list will approximate 6,000 and 
the propert}' loss will be many millions. Scarcely a building in 
the city escaped injury and the loss on stocks of goods cannot be 
estimated. All the extreme eastern and southern part and the 
western portion, south of avenue Q, to the Gulf, is either washed 
away or demolished and the dead are thrown in ever}' direction. 



■,•2 INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 

These are being rapidly gathered up and taken to temporary 
morgues on the strand. 

Whole families are, in many instances, wiped out of exist- 
ence. There is scarcely a family in the district mentioned that 
did not lose one or more members, while the hospitals are crowded 
with wounded beyond their capacity, and the county court house 
is being converted into a hospital for their care. 

The Catholic hospital down the island, was completel}^ 
demolished. All the Sisters and ninety inmates were drowned. 

The waves dashed over and flooded Fort San Jacinto, demol- 
ishing the barracks, officers' quarters, and drowning fourteen 
privates, two buglers, and First Sergeant of Company O,, First 
Artillery. 

BUILDINGS DESTROYED BY THE FLOOD. 

The Opera House, City Hall, Masonic Temple, Moody's 
Bank Building, Knapp's publishing house, and Ritter's saloon 
and restaurant, on the strand, are wrecked. From the latter seven 
dead bodies were removed from beneath the debris. 

Parties are engaged in removing the debris of the Knapp 
Building. Beneath they expect to find the body of Oscar Knapp, 
senior member of the firm. Richard D. Swann, cashier of John 
D. Rogers & Co., was drowned during the height of the storm 
while heroically attempting to rescue two ladies from drowning. 
It will be days before the full extent of the frightful disaster is 
known or a correct list of the dead is obtainable. A meeting of 
citizens was held to-day and a general committee, with the Mayor 
as chairman, was appointed. Sub-committees on Finance, Relief, 
Burial of the Dead, and Hospitals were appointed, and are now 
actively at work to relieve the distress prevailing and give decent^ 
burials to the dead. 

The terrific cyclone that produced such a distressing disaster 
in Galveston and all through Texas was predicted by the United 
States Weather Bureau to strike Galveston Friday night and cre- 
ated much apprehension, but the night passed without the predic- 
tion being verified. The conditions, however, were ominous, the 



INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 53 

danger signal was displa3^ed on the flag staff of the Weather 
Bureau, shipping was warned, etc. The southeastern sky was 
sombre, the Gulf beat high on the beach with that dismal thun- 
derous roar that presaged trouble, while the air had a stillness that 
betokens a storm. From out of the north, in the middle watches 
of the night, the wind began to come in spiteful puffs, increasing 
in volume as the day dawned. 

By ten o'clock Saturday morning it was almost a gale ; at 
noon it had increased in velocity and was driving the rain, whip- 
ping the pools and tearing things up in a lively manner, yet no 
serious apprehension was felt by residents remote from the 
encroachments of the Gulf. Residents near the beach were 
aroused to the danger that threatened their homes. Stupendous 
v^aves began to send their waters far inland and the people began 
a hasty exit to secure places in the city. 

TWO GIGANTIC FORCES AT WORK. 

Two gigantic forces were at work. The Gulf force drove the 
waves with irrestible force high upon the beach, and the gale 
from the northeast pitched the waters against and over the 
wharves, choking the sewers and flooding the city from that 
quarter. The streets rapidly began to fill with water, communi- 
cation became difficult and the helpless people were caught 
between two powerful elements, while the winds howled and 
rapidly increased in velocity. 

Railroad communication was cut off shortl}^ afternoon, the 
track being washed out ; wire facilities completely failed at 3 
o'clock, and Galveston was isolated from the world. The wind 
momentarily increased in velocity, while the waters rapidly rose 
and the night drew on with dreaded apprehension depicted in the 
face of every one. 

Already hundreds and thousands were bravely struggling 
with their families against the mad waves and fierce wind for 
places of refuge. The public school buildings, court house, 
hotels, in fact any place that offered apparently a safe refuge 
from the elements, became crowded to their utmost. Two minutes 



54 INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL HURRICANL, 

of 6.30 P. M., just before the anemometer blew away the wind 
had reached the frightful velocity of 100 miles an hour. Buildings 
that had hitherto stood tumbled and crashed, carrying death and 
destruction to hundreds of people. Roofs Avhistled through the 
air, windows were driven in with a crash or shattered by flying 
slate, telegraph, telephone and electric light poles, with theirl 
masses of wires, were snapped off like pipe stems, and water/ 
communications were broken, 

What velocity the wind attained after the anemometer blew 
off is purely a matter of speculation. The lowest point touched 
by the barometer in the press correspondents' of&ce, which was 
filled by frightened men and women, was 28.04)^ ; this was about 
7.30 P. M. It then began to rise verj^ slowl}^ and by 10 P. M. 
had reached 28.09, the wind gradually subsiding, and b}^ midnight 
the storm had passed. The w^ater, \vhich had reached a depth of 
eight feet on the strand at 10 P. M, began to ebb and ran out very 
rapidly, and by 5 P. M. the crown of the street was free of water. 
Thus passed out one of the most frightful and destructive storms 
which has ever devastated the coast of Texas. 

ADDITIONAL DETAILS. 

The city is filled with destitute, bereft and homeless people, 
while in the improvised morgues are the rigid forms of hundreds. 
Whole families are side by side. 

The city beach in the southwestern part of the city was under 
ten feet of water, and the barracks there are destroyed, the sol- 
diers having a marvelous escape from drowning. Many substan- 
tial residences in the western and southwestern part of the city 
were destroyed, and the death list from there will be large. 

A heavy mortality list is expected among the residents down 
the island and adjacent to the coast on the mainland, as both 
were deeply flooded, and the houses were to a great extent 
insecure. The heaviest losers by the storm will be the Galveston 
Wharf Company, the Southern Pacific Railway Conipan}^ and 
the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company, and the 
Texas Lone Star F-' ouring Company. 



INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 56 

Additinnal details by tug from Galveston show that west of 
Thirty-tliird street the storm swept the ground perfectly clear of 
the residences that once stood upon it and piled them up in a con- 
glomerated mass five blocks back on the beach, strewing the 
piling with the debris and the bodies of its many victims. Many 
of these were lying out in the afternoon sun and were frightful 
to look upon. The fearful work of the storm was not confined 
to the district along the beach, but took in all the district in 
the city and the Denver resurvey, but it was near to the beach 
that most destruction to human life occurred. 

The waves washed away the Home for the Homeless, and it 
is thought that the inmates, consisting of thirteen orphans and 
three matrons, were drowned. Out in the Denver resurvey the 
destruction was terrible, and victims of the storm were many. 
The government works were greatly damaged, the buildings on 
the beach were washed out into the Gulf and their occupants are 
thought to have perished. 

COMMUNICATIONS ALL CUT. 

In the north part of the west end the damage was great also, 
almost every building being damaged to some extent, and many 
completely wrecked. The cotton and lumber yards in that section 
of the city were completely razed, and much valuable machinery 
\s ruined. However, the loss of life was not nearly so great in 
that district as it was out towards the beach. 

A special to the " News " from Galveston brought to Houston 
by the tug '' Brunswick " gave the following additional particulars 
uf the storm : 

" The big iron oil tank of the Waters-Pierce Oil Company 
was picked from the Fifteenth street pier and carried to Thirteenth 
street. The old Union Depot, in recent years used as the office 
of the superintendent of the wharf yards, was dashed to pieces, 
as were numerous small frame buildings along the wharf front. 
Men were sent out Sunday morning to report the condition of the 
bridges across Galveston Bay, but were unable to reach them. 

" Telegraphic communication was also cut off on Saturday 



56 INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 

The linemen who went out Sunday reported that the railroad 
bridges were all washed awa)^, and there was not sufficient mater- 
ial in Galveston to rebuild the telegraph lines. The cables under 
the channel are gone. The lines will have to be built to the city 
from the mainland. Strenuous efforts were made on Sunday to 
•'Vepair the damage to the Mexican cable, but on account of the sea 
being high it was impossible to pick up the lost end of the cable. 
" Thousands of telegrams were filed at the telegraph office 
during the day, with the expectation that they would be sent to 
Houston for transmission, but the captain of the only small tug 
available would not venture on the trip with a new crew, his 
engineer and fireman having been lost, while tugs which might be 
hired were of too deep draught to go up the ba3/ou. 

IN THE BUSINESS DISTRICT. 

" In the business district not a building escaped injury. The 
Grand Opera House is caved in, and the fourth story of the 
Hotel Grand, a part of the same building, was blown off. The 
third story of the City Hall was blown awa3^ The three story 
building of the Ritter Cafe was demolished, and crashed into the 
rear of the News Building. The fourth story was torn from the 
Moody Building, at Twenty -second street and the strand. The 
Masonic Temple was partially unroofed and the tower torn awa3^ 
The upper stories of the Harmon}^ Club Building were caved in, 
and the frame building across the street was demolished. 

"Among other buildings damaged or destroyed was the Gal- 
veston Orphans' Home, all the children being reported unhurt. 
The Sacred Heart Church, one of the largest churches in the 
city, is a total wreck. St. Mary's University, adjoining it is con- 
siderabl}^ damaged, and the athletic building was destroyed. The 
First Baptist Church is a wreck. The parsonage adjoining .St. 
St. John's Methodist Church was wrecked. The Ball High School 
fcuilding is badly damaged." 

" Over thirty persons were rescued from St. Mary's Infirmary 
but quite a number perished. A mother and child, a Mexicaii 
woman and child and an elderl}^ lady, while going to the cotton 



INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL liURKICANE. 5Y 

mills, were drowned. While the mill was crowded with people 
the tower fell in, killing and injuring several persons. Over one 
thousand persons sought shelter in the County Court House. A 
lady and child from St. Louis, names not ascertained, who were 
visiting the family of police officer John Bowe, were lost. Mrs. 
Burns, mother of motorman Burns, and daughter, also perished, 
motorman Parker, wife and children, were killed. Mrs. BenhHl 
and child were drowned. 

" Three undertaking establishments are all being utilized as 
morgues, and a fourth morgue was opened in a large building on 
the Strand. Some of the draymen at first refused to haul more 
than one body at a time, demanding the price for a full load for 
each trip. On Sunday evening, however, the few who made this 
demand agreed to bring as many bodies as their carts would hold. 
Owing to the streets being full of debris it is only possible to use 
the two-wheeled carts. 

CARING FOR THE DEAD. 

"iMau}^ of those who escaped tell of thrilling experiences. 
Mr. and Mrs. James Irwin got out on the roof of their dwelling. 
They were seated on the side of the comb, and when the building 
blew over they floated off separately on sections of the roof 
Mrs. Irwin v/as on the raft alone all night. Mr. Irwin, who had 
found refuge at the Ursuline Convent, and who despaired of see- 
ing his wife again, heard a cry for help. Hoping to rescue a 
human being, he pulled off through the water, and was surprised 
and overjoyed to find his wife still afloat on the roof. 

" The cit}^ is not without a water suppl}^, but it is in total 
darkness. The city street railroad has suspended business, 
much of its track being washed out. It will be a month before 
cars can be operated b}^ electricity, but horse car service will be 
substituted at the earliest possible moment. The plant of the 
Galveston Gas Company is partially demolished, and is out of 
commission. Those who use gas for fuel are helpless. Fire 
wood was swept away, but there is plenty of drift wood to be 
had. 



5,^ INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 

" Several members of the police force were lost, and others 
lost their families. The force is greatly reduced in numbers, and 
at present is insuffiLcient to meet the demand upon it." 

The foregoing is a horrifying account, truthful and not over- 
drawn. In fact, the picture is far short of the reality. 

RESISTLESS POWER OF THE HURRICANE. 

It is a misnonier to call the violent revolving storm which 
devastated the city of Galveston and the adjacent coast of Texas 
a cyclone. It was in reality a hurricane, and more specifically 
what is known to meteorologists as a West Indian hurricane. A 
hurricane has a much smaller centre or diameter than a cyclone, 
travels with far greater rapidity, and its blasts often reach a 
velocity of loo miles an hour. The hurricane of the West Indies, 
which is really born in the heated waters of the South Atlantic, 
and which as a rule curves when it reaches the Yucatan Channel 
and follows the course of the Gulf Stream, decreases in intensity 
as it travels further north, broadens in diameter, and becomes the 
cyclone of the North Atlantic. 

It is a curious feature of the Galveston hurricane that, like 
the great hurricane of September, 1889, which devastated Vera 
Cruz, it did not follow the course of the Gulf Stream, but curved 
westward instead of eastward, after passing the Yucatan Channel, 
and rushed in upon the Texan coast. Galveston was not up to 
this time considered as within the hurricane belt, and its awful 
visitation is proof that the laws of storms have exceptions to their 
rules. 

The late Padre Vines, of Havana, the venerable and learned 
Jesuit priest, who made a lifelong study of the birth and course of 
West Indian hurricanes, was accustomed to warn by cable the 
many friends that he had among the captains of the vessels ply- 
ing to and from West Indian ports of the approach of hurricanes 
and their probable course. 

lu September, 1889, he cabled to Captain Joshua Reynolds, 
commanding one of the Ward steamers, and who was just leaving 
Vera Cruz for New York, that a hurricane was approaching from 



INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 59 

the eastward, aud that he would better steam slowly to and past 
Progresso and let the great storm pass up and along the Gulf 
Stream. Captain Reynolds acted in obedience to the warning, 
but this particular hurricane, like the one that struck Galveston, 
curved to the westward instead of to the eastward, after passing 
the Yucatan Channel, overcame an area of high barometer that, 
hung over the Mexican coast, and rushed into Vera Cruz, carr\^- 
ing death and destruction in its wake. Captain Reynolds and his 
ship safel}^ weathered the hurricane and were received at Havana 
with great rejoicing, where it had been thought they were lost. 

It was in 1859 that still another West Indian hurricane 
curved the wrong way and swept the waters of the Gulf over Last 
Island, then the great summer resort of Southern society, situated 
a few miles west of the mouth of the Mississippi off the coast of 
Barataria. Those who wish to obtain some conception of the 
horrors attending the Galveston hurricane should read Lafcadio 
Hearn's story of "Chita : The Romance of Last Island," in which 
that skilled word painter depicts the scenes of the awful tragedy 
which decimated the households of the South. 

STIRRING APPEALS FOR HELP. 

One of our leading journals made the following timely com- 
ments upon the Galveston calamity and the urgent necessity for 
quick help : 

" The cry for help which comes from the stricken city of 
Galveston and the surrounding country is a moving appeal which 
should receive the readiest and most generous response. The ex- 
tent of the disaster which has overtaken the city and the coast 
country of Texas has not been overdrawn, it seems, in the reports 
from the scene, and it would be impossible to exaggerate the 
horror of the catastrophe and the distress and suffering that follow 
in its wake. 

"A fair city of 138,000 inhabitants was wrecked in a night./ 
Thousands of men, women and children were drowned or killed in 
the wreckage of the flooded, crumbling city ; whole families 
suddenly blotted out ; the great mass of the survivors bereft of 



60 INCIDENTS OF THE AWFUL HURRICANE. 

their habitations, goods and clothing, and by the wreck of busines.s 
houses and the stoppage of industry deprived of the means of 
earning subsistence for a long time to come. No one need hesi 
tate about making a contribution to alleviate the suffering of Texah 
m the grounds that others will give enough to suppl}/^ all needs. 

TERRIBLE SUFFERING AND MISERY. 

"However generous or lavish may be the aid proffered, it will 
not be enough to repair the mischief of that storm, and however 
prompt the aid may be, it will not be quick enough to prevent 
terrible suffering and misery. Delay in providing for the 
impoverished and homeless means peril to more lives, deprivation 
and sickness, and, under the most favorable circumstances in get- 
ting aid to the district, thousands are fated to undergo the severest 
suffering. 

" Fortunatel}^, the Government has stepped in and, through 
the War Department, is lending prompt and effective aid. Tents 
and rations are being rushed to Galveston with all possible speed, 
and private liberality and relief committees are coming to the 
rescue. The scope of the Government's efforts will be limited to 
such supplies as are available in the War Department, and, in 
addition, vast quantities of food, clothing and medicines are 
needed, doctors and nurses are required, and a large sum of money 
is an absolute necessity to pay for these things and to form a fund 
for the purpose of maintaining relief until the sharp period of 
distress shall be tided over. Our city, in every cause that appeals 
to benevolence and humanity, has always been in the forefront of 
the generous, and, in such a case as the Texas disaster, the city's 
liberality should be maintained. The Citizens' Permanent Relief 
Committee has taken steps to render aid to the hurricane suffer- 
ers, and, through that useful and beneficent organization, every 
person in this vicinity will have the opportunity to join in giving 
aid for a purpose which must excite universal pity and sym- 
pathy." 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Cry of Distress in the Wrecked City— Negro Vandals 

Shot Down— Progress of the Relief Work 

—Strict Military Rule. 

THE situation on the third day after the flood was vividly 
described by a visitor to the city as follows : It is plainly 
apparent that as a result of the Galveston disaster, a task 
confronts the public authorities such as neither Texas nor any 
other State has ever before had to grapple with. 

Human nature at its worst has had opportunity for the dis- 
play of its meanest passions, and relentless measures have been 
rendered necessary. Looters and vandals have ignored all moral 
restraints, and gunpowder has had to be used unsparingly to sub^ 
due the savagery being practiced. It is learned on unquestionable 
authority that the soldiers under Adjutant General Scurry have 
to-day (Wednesday the i2th) slain no less than seventy ^five men, 
mostly negroes, guilty of robbing the dead. 

POCKET FULL OF HUMAN FINGERS. 

One of these had in his pocket twenty-three human fingers 
with costly rings on them. The fingers had been cut from the 
victims of the storm found on the beach or floating in the waters of 
Galveston Bay. 

W. McGrath, Manager of the Dallas Electric Company, and 
representing large Boston interests in Texas, returned from 
Galveston direct. He says : " The only way to prevent an epi- 
demic that will practically depopulate the island is to burn the 
bodies of the dead. The Governor of Texas should call an extra 
session of the Legislature and appropriate a million or half a mil- 
lion dollars, or whatever amount is needed. The situation must 
be taken intelligently in hand to save the State from a possible 
epidemic. Before I left Galveston about 4,000 bodies had been 

til 



02 CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 

found. Eleven hundred had been tied together in bunches and 
suuk inlo the sea. Last night some fresh water was found by 
forces of men who explored the ground until the principal main of 
the city water works was found. Tons of rubbish were removed 
and the main tapped. I believe the water question is solved for 
the present, but money, clothing, wholesome bread, ice, drugs, etc., 
are needed." 

A bulletin from Galveston, via. Virginia Point and Houston, 
received here at ii A. M., says : 

" The situation grows worse every minute, water and ice 
needed. People in frenzy from suffering from these causes. Scores 
have died since last night, and a number of sufferers have gone 
insane." 

THE STORY INCREASES IN HORROR. 

A despatch from Houston summed up the situation as follows : 
Houston is now being rapidly filled with refugees from Galveston. 
Stragglers have been arriving every few hours, and this afternoon 
a trainload of some eight hundred reached the city thoroughly 
worn out and disheartened, each with a tale of woe and harrowing 
experiences. Contrary to the usual thing in chronicling catastro- 
phes of the present character the story of Galveston grows worse 
as the time progresses and the facts become known. Each chap- 
ter is more appalling than its predecessor, and the burden of death 
becomes heavier as the hours roll on. The estimates of the loss of 
life have grown from i,ooo to 8,000, and even the latter figure is 
said to be too small in the opinion of many of the survivors. 

ACTUAL LOSS WILL NEVER BE KNOWN. 

The actual loss will never be made known. The storm over- 
<>vhelmed entire families, who were swept into the Gulf with the 
•wreckage of their homes. The bodies may gradually be thrown on 
the sands, but identification vv^ill be impossible. The committees 
are endeavoring to compile lists of both dead and living, but they 
will not be accurate, as many mistakes have already been made 
and the living reported dead. Registers have been made and 



CRY OF DTSTRESvS IX GALVKSTON. 63 

posted ill the city in order to facilitate this feature of the relief 
work. 

DISPOSING OF THE DEAD. 

So far the efforts of the searchers have necessarily been con- 
fined to the open places, and it will be some time before the dead 
swept into the fields, the alle^^s and the gullies are gathered and 
7aid away for good. The city is one awful stench of decaying ani- 
mal matter. Nearly every animal on the island was killed, and 
the thousands of human remains still scattered beneath the vast 
piles of debris add to the danger of the situation. Too much time 
was lost in consigning the dead to the sea, and the workers were 
compelled by the exigencies of the situation to pile the corpses 
where found, and cremate them as well as this could be done. 

PEOPLE DELAYED FLIGHT TOO LONG. 

Oswald Wilson, editor of the Texan^ who arrived with the refu- 
gees, says that the situation cannot be painted any blacker than it 
really is. Fully one-third of the city has been destroyed absolutel}' 
and ever}^ building damaged. He says that one reason that the 
loss of life was so excessive was due to the fact that they delayed 
leaving their homes until too late. The water rose rapidl}' for 
several hours until the centre of the city was six feet deep and the 
outlying section covered to a depth of over ten feet. The people 
of Galveston were accustomed to high water, although they had 
never witnessed so great an inundation, but their fears were calmed 
by the fact that during this period the wind had not risen abo\e 
thirty miles an hour, and every year they had seen this condition 
during the equinoctial periods. 

REALIZED THEIR PERIL TOO LATE. 

Men waded about the city laughing at the rise of the water 
for hours, for the sea gradually encroached during the morning, 
and it was only when they realized the bay was forcing its contents 
to meet the tide from the Gulf that they lost their confidence that 
tihe present was but another attempt of the elements to create 
a disturbance, and seriously endeavored to reach a point of safety. 



64 CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 

Then it was too late, for the tide swirled in the streets and the 
wind had begun rapidly to increase in violence. It howled and 
screamed in great gusts, which increased in strength every minute, 
and one by one the houses along the Gulf front and in the Denver 
resurvey and about Fort Point began to go to pieces and pile one 
against the other. 

The waters were filled with debris and the debris wdth men, 
women and children seeking to save their lives. Wading was im- 
possible, save in the centre of the city, and the unfortunates wer^ 
swept to and fro, dashed by the waves and bruised by the flying 
fragments, until death resulted in one form or another. Man}- 
were the deeds of heroism, but rescuers and all fell victims to the 
storm, for human efforts were unavailing. 

MORE HORRORS DETAILED. 

J. C. Roberts, of the firm of Behring Brothers, Houston, was 
sent to Galveston to learn of the family of his employers. His 
journey was arduous, for he was one of the first. Arriving in the 
city worn out, he entered a little drug store and asked for whisky. 
He was refused. A doctor was present and gave him a prescription 
for the stimulant. The druggist charged $2.50 for the whisky, and 
the doctor $5 for his services. He landed at Galveston at Twen- 
tieth street, and walked through dead bodies. 

His description of the scenes is horrible in the extreme. The 
dead were everywhere. They were scattered on every hand, and 
nearly all in a complete state of nudity. He saw an Italian woman 
standing in the street holding in her hand the foot and leg of an 
infant severed from the little body. She was unclad, but alive and 
in.sane, and refused to leave the pile of debris which contained the 
remains of her little one. 

Roberts witnessed one of the guards shoot five negro looterh. 
He observed one of the men robbing a dead body. The man re- 
fused to desist and the guard shot him dead as he knelt on the 
sands. Four companions of the ghoul started to assault the guard, 
when he threw himself on his stomach, and, firing rapidly, killed 
them all. 



CRY OF DlSTREvSS IN GALVESTON. (1-5 

NINETY NEGROES EXECUTED. 

It is said tliat ninety negroes have been executed for robber}', 
and it is unsafe for any one to stir at night unless provided with a 
passport from the officer in charge. A description of the burning 
of the dead and the burial at sea is be3^ond reproduction. All senti- 
ment is at an end. It has become a matter of self-protection and in 
order to avoid pestilence rapid disposal of the corpses is necessar}^ 
Several load=^ of lime have been sent from here, with other disin- 
fectants. The TDeople of Galveston have had no bread since the 
storm save what little has been sent from Houston. A cracker 
factory opened its doors Sunday and sold its entire contents in a 
short time. Some food was left after the storm, but this is rapidly 
being distxibuted. 

Bonfires are burning all over the city. They are the funeral 
of a thousand festering corpses cast back upon the shore at high 
tide yesterday. Cremation has become a necessity to prevent an 
epidemic. The negroes refuse to work, and the townspeople are 
paral3^zed with fright and suffering, or are making prepar?tions to 
leave the doomed island. 

The first train to carry refugees to Texas City, seven miles 
across the ba}^, was announced this morning, and since daylight a 
thousand men, women and children have been crowding into cat- 
boats, lifeboats, sloops, schooners and a single steamboat, the Law- 
rence, all bent on escaping from the city. Nearly all of them have 
lost some member of their families. The women wear no hats, are 
unkempt and ill-clad. They look as if haunted. 

THE CITY OFFICIALS IN A LIVELY QUARREL. 

The situation has gotten beyond the control of the authorities. 
The powers in control have been quarreling. Last night at 7 
o'clock every citizen soldier under command of Major Fayling was 
called in, disarmed and mustered out of service. Chief of Police 
Ketchum then took charge, and the Major was relieved of his com- 
mand. During an hour and a half the city was unguarded. Negro 

looters held hiorh carnival, 
5 



66 CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 

As the Major's work was unusually brilliant, the citizens are 
furious. This morning the situation from the police standpoint 
is improved. A hundred of the State militia of the Houston 
Light Guards, Houston Artillery and Houston Cavalry have arrived. 
They are patrolling the west end of the city. General McKibbin, 
Commander of the Department of the Gulf, and Adjutant Gen- 
eral Scurry, of Texas, are on the ground, and are advising with 
Mayor Jones and the Chief of Police Ketchum. 

In all other respects the city is worse off than ou the morning 
after the tragedy. A terrible stench permeates the atmosphere. 
It comes from the bodies of a thousand unburied dead festering in 
the debris, that cannot be removed for weeks on account of the 
paucity of laborers. Every tide brings scores back to the shore. 
During the early part of 3^esterda3^ trenches were dug and the 
bodies thrown into them, but it soon became an impossibility to 
bury all, and the health authorit^<^s decided iipon cremation as an 
expedient. 

WORK OF THE RELIEF COMMITTEE 

At a meeting of the Relief Committee held this morning reports 
were received from the various wards. The chairman called for 
armed men to assist in getting labor to bury the dead and clear the 
wreckage, and arrangements were made to supply this demand. . 

The situation in the city to-day is that there are plenty of 
volunteers for this service, but an insufficiency of arms. There 
have been two or three small riots, but the officers have managed 
to quell them. The committee rejected the proposition of trying 
to pay for work, letting the laborers secure their own rations. It 
was decided to go ahead impressing men into service, if necessary, 
issuing orders for rations only to those who worked or were unable 
to work. 

All of the ward chairmen reported the imperative need of 
disinfectants. A committee was appointed to sequester all the 
disinfectants in the city, including the lime which escaped wetting, 
and to obtain more. Houston was called upon for a barge load of 
lime. 



I 



CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 6^ 

WORK AT THE WATER WORKS. 

Work on the water works had not progressed so satisfactorily 
as had been hoped for. The men did not work last night. Chief 
Engineer Reynolds has not been at the works since yesterday 
morning. Alderman McMaster took charge of the work to-day. 
The machinery has been cleared of the debris and the pipes fonnd 
to be badly damaged, and plumbers, steam fitters and boiler maker? 
are at work on them. Mr. McMaster says he thinks it will be pos- 
sible to turn water into the mains to-morrow. 

All saloons were closed by the Chief of Police on Sunday. At 
a meeting of the General Committee with the city officials to da}^, 
the policing of the city was discussed. Mayor Jones announced 
that Adjutant General Scurry would take charge of the situation 
with the soldiers and citizen soldiery. The city is patrolled by 
about 2,000 police officers, special officers, soldiers and deputy 
sheriffs. Deputy Chief of Police Amundsen is acting as Chief 
Chief of Police Ketchum is engaged in other work outside of the 
police department. 

STRICT POLICE RULES. 

No liquor is permitted to be sold under any circumstances, 
unless ordered by the chairman of one of the committees or by a 
physician, who must state that it is to be used for medicinal pur- 
poses. All persons not having business on the streets after dark 
must be identified before they will be allowed to pass. Unless iden- 
tification is forthcoming they are arrested. No person is allowed 
to work in or about any building unless he has a written permit 
signed by the Chief of Police or Deputy Chief. No person is per- 
mitted to carry furniture or other property through the streets 
unless he has a written permit from the proper authority. No 
gambling is permitted, and any violations of this rule are prose- 
cuted to the fullest extent. 

During the storm Saturday night the young men of the Bod- 
diker family, with the aid of a skiff, rescued over forty people and 
took them to the University building, where they found shelter. 



68 CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 

The orgaiiizatiou of forces uuder the able admiuistratioii of 
General Scurry was observable on every hand, and the chaotic 
condition of the city was being supplanted by a vigor of action 
that portended restoration in the near future. Private enterprise 
went to work and the people took heart. 

NURSES FROM A DISTANCE. 

The very presence of nurses was a sign that the calamity had 
attracted the attention of the world at large, and the city would 
not be left to succumb to the dire and terrible disaster that has 
overtaken it. 

One of the local journals said : " Merchants are cleaning up 
their stores and repairing their injured buildings ; property 
owners are seeking everywhere to obtain men and materials with 
which to restore their shattered habitations. Hope has by no 
means departed. In a brief time the sound of the locomotive will 
be heard upon the island, freight will be pouring up to the ship's 
side, and the mechanic and artisan will find remunerative employ- 
ment for years to come. Out of the destruction of the greatest wind 
and tide force that ever played upon the American continent, there 
has arisen already a feeling that what a week ago was regarded 
as an irretrievable disaster, will yet prove the starting point of a 
remodelled and reinvigorated Galveston. The whole world is 
behind us in generous sympathy and noble beneficence." 

GOVERNOR SAYRES ON THE SITUATION. 

Governor Sayres made the following statement to the Asso- 
ciated Press on the flood situation : 

" Conditions at Galveston are fully as bad as reported. Com- 
munication, however, has been re-established between the island 
and the mainland, and hereafter transportation of supplies will be 
less difficult. The work of clearing the city is progressing fairl}- 
well, and Adjutant General Scurry, under direction of the Ma3'or, 
is patrolling the city for the purpose of preventing depredations. 
The most conservative estimate as to the number of dead places 
them at 2,000. Contributions from citizens of this State and also 
from other States are romiug in rapidl}- and liberally, and it is 



CRY OF DISTRJvSS IN GALVESTON. 69 

confideuth' expected that withiu the next ten days the work of res- 
toration by the people of Galveston will have begun in good earnest 
and with energy and success. Of course, the destruction of prop- 
erty has been very great — not less than $10,000,000, but it is hoped 
and believed that even this great loss will be overcome through the 
energy and self-reliance of the people." 

During the day the contributions have fairly deluged the 
Governor, upwards of $100,000 having been received. Among the 
large contributors are to be noted the Standard Oil Company, with 
$T 0,000 ; St. Louis Commercial Club for a like amount, and the 
Huntinp-ton interests for $5,000 

THE TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM. 

This afternoon Governor Sayres received the following official 
report from General Manager Trice, of the International and Great 
Northern Railroad, who is conducting the operations of the relief 
corps at Galveston : 

" To Governor Sayres, Austin, Tex. — Your message of yester 
day received. The cars containing the tents and rations were 
turned over to the barge line this morning and forwarded to Gal- 
veston, arrangements having been made for all freight to be 
handled by barges hauled by tugs from Clinton to Galveston, and 
passengers by our line to Texas City, and by boats from Texas 
City to Galveston. This is the best arrangement that can be made, 
and it prevents delay to either the freight or the passenger service, 
for, if we handled the freight with the passengers to Texas City, to 
transfer from the cars to the boats would cause too much delay to 
the passenger service. 

" We brought in one train, consisting of about three hundred 
Galveston people, to Houston to-day, and will get another train-load 
to-night, mostly women and children, which will make about 600 
that we will get out of Galveston to-day. The passenger and 
freight service between Plouston and Galveston is all free 
for sufferers, and we are issuing transportation to all point.'^: 
north of Houston to all sufferers not able to pay their way. 

" L. Trjce." 



70 CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 

ADJUTANT GENERAL SCURRY'S ESTIMATE. 

The following report was also received from Adjutant General 
Scurry : 

" Governor Sayres, Austin. — Mayor of Houston ordered Hous- 
ton military companies here, sixty-five men and officers came. 
Thirty more come to-morrow. Mayor of Galveston directed me to 
take command. Streets patrolled for purpose of preventing thiev- 
ing. Work of clearing the city progressing fairly well. 

" Thomas Scurry, Adjutant General." 

LOSS OF LIFE AND DAMAGE AT OTHER POINTS. 

Governor Sayres began receiving reports from various points 
along the Gulf coast, which would indicate that there has been 
great property damage done for several hundred miles, and that 
the list of Galveston fatalities and suffering will be largely aug- 
mented. Down the coast from Galveston, the town of Dickinson 
was laid waste and five people killed. The towns of Alvin, Alta 
Loma, Texas City and Brookshire, are wrecked and hundreds are 
destitute. Richmond is so badly demolished that it will require 
weeks to clear the town. 

Missouri City and Stafford, just opposite, were entirely demol- 
ished, and the few remaining people at these places have no homes 
to cover their heads. Bay City, in Matagorda county, is reported 
wrecked, with much loss of life, though no official report has been 
made to that effect. Patton, Rollover, Bolivar Point, Quintana, 
Sugarland, Belleville, Wharton, Fair View, Missouri City, Sartar- 
tia. Areola and El Campo are all reported heavy sufferers both in 
point of property destroyed and lives lost. Owing to the fact that 
the telegraph service is still badly crippled. Governor Sayres cannot 
ascertain the exact number of dead at the points named, but it is 
approximated at 500. 

BOATS FOR TRANSPORTATION. 

The Governor was informed that quite a number of tugs from 
New Orleans and other available points had either arrived or were 
on the way to Galveston, and the transportation problem would 



CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 71 

soon be solved so far as the getting people from the island to the 
mainland was concerned. 

Hundreds applied to Governor Sayres for permits to go to Gal- 
veston, but he refused all, saying that there were already too many 
people there. 

THE DEVASTATION APPALLING. 

The Quartermaster's Department at Washington, received the 
following from Galveston : 

" Quartermaster General, Washington : Referring to my tele- 
grams of 9th and loth, I have, subject to approval, suspended the 
Crockett construction contracts, and again urgently recommend 
that contractors be paid for labor and material in place and on the 
ground. All swept away and lost beyond recovery. Fortifications 
at Crockett, Jacinto and Travis all destroyed and cannot be rebuilt 
on present sites. Recommend continuance of my office here only 
long enough to recover Crockett office safes and morning gun, 
when located ; also to close accounts and ship my office and re- 
covered property where directed. I fear Galveston is destroyed 
beyond its ability to recover. Loss of life and property appalling. 

" Baxter, Quartermaster." 

VESSEL ORDERED TO GALVESTON. 

President McKinley received a telegram from Governor Saj^res, 
of Texas, asking that a light draft vessel be sent to Galveston to 
assist in the communication between the island and the mainland. 
The message was referred to the Treasury Department, and an 
order was issued to the revenue cutter Winona, at Mobile, to pro- 
ceed to Galveston without a moment's unnecessar}^ dela3^ The 
Lighthouse Board also ordered the lighthouse tender ArbutuJi, then 
at New Orleans, to clear at once for Galveston. 

Captain Shoemaker, Chief of the Revenue Cutter Service, is 
apprehensive as to the fate of the cutter Galveston, which was an- 
chored in Galveston harbor at the beginning of the storm. It is 
assumed that she put to sea, but as three full days have elapsed 
since she was heard from there are fears for her safety. 



72 CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 

The relief work, now under full sway at Houston, is along two 
lines — to succor those who cannot leave Galveston and to bring out 
of the city all those w^ho can and are willing to leave. 

Mayor Jones and the citizens' committee of the island city are 
urging that only those shall be permitted to enter Galveston whose 
presence is imperative, and transportation lines are straining ever}^ 
nerve in order that they may accord the privilege to those who art 
pleading to get away from the scenes of horror and desolation 
around them. 

Hundreds of people have come to Houston from the foui 
points of the compass, anxious to get into the stricken town, but 
since the exodus of islanders has begun many of these have con. 
eluded to remain here rather than run the risk of missing on the 
way those for whom they are in search. 

ATTEMPT TO SUM UP THE LOSSES. 

News has gradually been reaching here of the immense losses 
along the coast beyond Galveston. Damage difficult to estimate in 
dollars and cents has been done in a wide stretch of territor}'', and 
many human lives have been lost besides those which were wiped 
out in Galveston and its immediate vicinity. Based on reports 
believed to be accurate, the following statement is probably as near 
correct as can be arrived at at this time : 

Place. Eives lost. Property loss. 

Galveston 8000 $10,000,000 

Houston 2 300,000 

Alvin 9 100,000 

Hitchcock 2 75jOOo 

Richmond 3 75)0^0 

Fort Bend county 19 300,000 

Wharton — 40,000 

Wharton county 8 100,000 

Colorado county — 250,000 

Angleton 3 75)C>oo 

Velasco — 50,000 

Other points in Brazoria county 4 30,000 



CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 73 

Place. Lives lost. Property loss. 

Sabine — 40,000 

Patton — 10,000 

Rollover — 10,000 

Wenaie — 10,000 

Belleville i 50,000 

Hempstead i 15,000 

Brookshire 2 35,ooo 

Waller county 3 100,000 

Areola 2 5,000 

Saratatia — 5,ooo 

Other points — 100,000 

Dickinson 7 30,000 

Texas City 5 150,000 

Columbia 8 15,000 

Sandy Point 8 10,000 

Near Brazoria (convicts) 15 1,000 

Damage to railroads outside of Galveston . 200,000 
Damage to telegraph and telephone wires out 

side of Galveston 30,000 

Damage to cotton crop, estimated on average crop of ^counties 
affected, 50,000 bales at $60 per bale ; total, $3,000,000. Losses to 
live stock cannot be estimated, but thousands of horses^ and cattle 
have been killed all over the storm district. 

RELIEF PUSHED FORWARD NIGHT AND :)AY- 

Relief for those stricken in the awful calamity is now begin- 
ning to pour in from all over the country. Relief committees are 
being organized, and food, clothing and money raised to be sent 
here as rapidly as the special trains can carry the supplies to the 
people so sorely in need of them. 

The Relief Committee here announces that the subscriptions, 
in cash are in excess of $15,000, and that in addition to the provi- 
sions which have been forwarded from here the Federal Govern- 
ment has ordered 50,000 rations, which are now on their way from 



74 CKi OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 

San A.ntonio. Lieutenant Ferguson, of General McKibben's staff, 
expects to take two car loads of food to Galveston to-day. A tele- 
gram from New Orleans says that the exchanges there have raised 
$6,000 for the sufferers. 

Dr. C P. Wertenbacker, in charge of the Marine Hospital Ser- 
vice in New Orleans, has arrived here. He has special instructions 
to look after the welfare of steamers which may be in distress in 
Galveston. Dr. Wertenbacker believes that two camps may have 
to be established by the Government, one for those who cannot 
leave Galveston and one for those who may come here. The 
National Government will send the necessary tents, and the local 
authorities are providing cots in large numbers. 

AN APPEAL TO THE FREE MASONS. 

Houston, Tex., Sept. 12. — An appeal has been sent out by the 
Masonic Grand Master to the Masonic lodges and members in 
Texas, urging them to remit or contribute to the assistance of the 
destitute. 

Grand Commander W. F. Randolph, of North Carolina 
Knights Templar, to-day telegraphed tlie following to subordinate 
commanders of North Carolina : 

"Our fraters in Texas in dire distress because of recent storm. 
Immediate relief imperative. Grand Master appeals for funds. 
Wire or send quickly to Henry B. Stoddard, Deputy Grand Mas- 
ter, Galveston, Tex." 

SUBSCRIPTIONS UNDER WAY. 

Wilmington, Del., Sept. 12. — H. L. Evans & Co., bankers of 
Wilmington, to-day started a fund to help the storm sufferers at 
Galveston. Bishop Monaghan, of the Roman Catholic Church, in 
response to a telegram from Bishop Gallagher, of Galveston, has 
also started a relief movement. The mone}^ which was collected 
by the city during the Porto Rico famine is still in the possession 
of Mayor Fahey, and it is likely that it will be turned over for the 
relief of the people of Galveston. 

Atlanta, Ga., Sept. 12. — At a special meeting of the City 



CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 75 

Council this aftercoon $2500 was appropriated for the Galveston 
storm sufferers. Private subscriptions have amounted to more than 
this amount, and to-day $4771 was sent to Galveston. 

Liverpool, Sept. 12. — At a meeting convened by the Lord 
Mayor of Liverpool, England, it was decided to open a relief fund 
for the sufferers from the Galveston disaster, and /1500 was 
immediately subscribed, exclusive of over ^^500 raised by the cottor 
association. The Chamber of Commerce of Liverpool has passed 
a resolution expressing deep sympathy with the people of Gal- 
veston. 

PROTECTION OF GALVESTON A COSTLY PROBLEM. 

To protect the city of Galveston from the ravages of future 
cyclones would be almost as costly as to re-establish the city on a 
new site. This is the opinion of eminent engineers in Washing- 
ton. To insure the maintenance of the channel it has been neces- 
sary to erect jetties, which have cost more than $6,000,000, but 
these jetties do not furnish any obstacle of value to the invasion of 
the sea when behind it is a force such as a West Indian cyclone 
exerts. 

Because of the effect of storms upon the Gulf coast it has been 
customary for engineer officers stationed at Galveston to report 
yearly upon the appearance of atmospheric disturbances of more 
than usual intensity, and Captain Rich, the engineer officer, who 
is believed to have lost his life, stated in his report for 1899 ^^^^ 
storms which occurred during April, May and June, 1899, '' carried 
away nearly all that remained of construction trestle and track, and 
caused more or less settlement of the jetties." 

The need of a safe deep water harbor on the Gulf of Mexico 
has long been appreciated, and in 1899 Congress passed an act 
directing the Secretary of War to appoint a board of three engineer' 
officers of the army to make a careful and critical examination of 
the American coast of the Gulf of Mexico west of 93 degrees and 
30 minutes west longitude, and to " report as to the most eligible 
point or points for a deep harbor, to be of ample depth, width and 
capacity to accommodate the largest ocean going vessels and the 



/6 CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 

commercial and naval necessities of the countr}-." The Board con^ 
sisted of Lieutenant Colonels H. V. Roberts, G. L. Gillespie and 
Jared A. Smith. The Board rejDorted that Galveston ^vas the most 
eligible point for a deep harbor, but also called attention to the 
harbors at Sabine and Aransas Passes as being worthy of consid- 
eration. 

STORM TRAVELED OVER THREE THOUSAND MILES. 

Under date of September 13th a prominent journal commented 
as follows on the great storm : 

" Fast disappearing into the Atlantic by way of Cape Breton 
Island the great West Indian hurricane is passing into history so 
far as the United States is concerned. 

" For twelve days this storm has been under the surveillance 
of the Weather Bureau. During: this time it has traveled more 
than 3,000 miles, and has described in its course a perfect parabola. 
When the storm began its "swing around the circle " at Galveston 
its intensity was greater than it has been since, although as it goes 
to sea to-night it is reported to be again assuming teriiuc propor- 
tions. 

" Its course now lies directly in the path of the North Atlantic 
Liners, and what future destruction it may wreak remains to be 
seen from reports of incoming vessels. Until the West Indian 
hurricane made its appearance the United States had been for ex- 
actly two months without a storm, which is the longest period on 
record since the establishment of the Government Weather Bureau. 
With the disappearance of this storm, another disturbance is re- 
ported near the west Gulf coast, with an arm of barometic depres- 
sion extending northward into Western Tennessee." 

NOT MEN ENOUGH TO HANDLE THE DEAD. 

Further details of the great disaster were as follows : The citi- 
zens of Galveston are straining every nerve to clear the ground 
and secure from beneath the debris the bodies of human beings 
and animals and to get rid of them. It is a task of great magni- 
tude and is attended with untold difficulties. There is a shortage 



CRY OF DISTRESS IN OALVKSTON. 



77 



of horses to haul the dead and there is a shortage of willing hands 
to perform the gruesome work. It became apparent that it would 
be impossible to bury the dead, even in trenches, and arrangements 
were made to take them to sea. 

Barges and tugs were quickly made ready for the purpose, but 
it was difficult to get men to do the work. The city's firemen 
worked hard in bringing bodies to the wharf, but, outside of them, 
there were few who helped. Soldiers and policemen were accord- 
ingly sent out, and every able-bodied man they found was marched 
to the wharf front. The men were worked in relays, and were sup- 
plied wdth stimulants to nerve them for their task. 

At nightfall three barge loads, containing about 700 human 
bodies, had been sent to sea, where they were sunk with weights. 
Darkness compelled suspension of the work until morning. Toward 
night great difficulty was experienced in handling the bodies of 
negroes, which are badly decomposed. 

No effort was made after 9 o'clock in the morning to place 
the bodies in morgues for identification, for it was imperative 
that the dead should be gotten to sea as soon as possible. Many 
of the bodies taken out are unidentified. They are placed on the 
barges as quickly as possible and lists made while the barges are 
being towed to soa. 

A large number of dead animals were hauled to the bay and 
dumped in, to be xcarried to sea by the tides. 

REIJEF TRAIN FROM HOUSTON/ 

A relief train from Houston, with 250 men on board, and two 
carloads of provisions, came down over the Galveston, Houston & 
Northern Railroad yesterday to a point about five miles from Vir- 
ginia Point. It was impossible for them to get the provisions or 
any considerable number of the men to Galveston, so they turned 
their attention to burying the dead lying around the mainland 
country. 

There is no fresh water famine here, as the pipes from the 
supply works are running at the receiving tanks. It is difficult, 
bowever, to get it to p:.rts of tlic city where it is needed. 



78 CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 

ROBBERY AND MUTILATION OF THE DEAD. 

A reporter has telegraphed from La Porte the story of the 
robber}^ and mutilation of the dead in Galveston and death of the 
offenders. 

Ghouls ^vere holding an orgie over the dead. The majorit}^ 
of these men were negroes, but there were also whites who took 
part in the desecration. Some of them were natives and some had 
been allowed to go over from the mainland, under the guise of 
"relief" M'ork. Not only did they rob the dead, but they mutil- 
ated bodies in order to secure their ghoulish booty. A party of 
ten negroes were returning from a looting expedition. They had 
stripped corpses of all valuables, and the pockets of some of the 
looters were fairly bulging out with fingers of the dead, which had 
been cut off because they were so swollen the rings could not be 
removed. 

Incensed at this, desecration and mutilation of the dead, the 
looters were shot down, and it has been determined that all found 
in the act of robbing dead shall be summarily shot. 

During the robbing of the dead, not only were fingers cut off, 
but ears were stripped from the head in order to secure jewels of 
value. A few Government troops who survived have been assisting 
in patrolling the city. Private citizens have also endeavored to 
prevent the robbing of the dead, and on several occasions have 
killed the offenders. Singly and in twos and threes the offenders 
were thus shot down, until the total of those thus executed exceeds 
fully Vty. 

A REFUGEE'S STATEMENT. 

J. W. B. Smith, who went to Galveston from Denver, was iu 
vSaturday night's storm, and reached Houston, after having an ex-j 
perience which he will remeinber the remainder of his life. 

He started from the city on Monday afternoon, and in walking 
from the foot of Broadwa}^ to the Santa Fe bridge, counted two 
hundred dead bodies hung up on wire fences, to say nothing of 
those floating in the water. He constructed a raft out of planks. 



CRY OF DISTRESvS IN GALVESTON. 79 

and in company with Clegg Stewart, made for the mainland, which 
they reached after hours of exj)osure. 

In every direction crossing the bay they saw the feet of corpses 
sticking out of the water. Upon reaching land they walked to 
Hitchcock, Mr. Stewart's home, and found that twenty-five persons 
had lost their lives there, and that, in addition, fifty bodies that had 
floated ashore had been buried near there. 

MONEY BADLY NEEDED. 

The Galveston local relief committee sent out the following : 

" We are receiving numerous telegrams of condolence and 
otfers of assistance. As the telegraph wires are burdened, we beg 
the Associated Press to communicate this response to all. Nearby 
cities are supplying and will suppl}^ sufficient food, clothing, etc., 
for immediate needs. Cities farther awa}^ can serve us best b}' 
landing mone3^ Checks should be ma^de pa3^able to John Sealy, 
Chairman of the Finance Committee, 

" All supplies should come to W. A. McVitie, Chairman Relief 
Committee. We have 25,000 people to clothe and feed, for mau}^ 
weeks, and to furnish with household goods. Most of these are 
homeless and the others require mone}^ to make their wrecked resi- 
dences habitable. From this the w^orld may understand how much 
money we will need. This committee will, from time to time, re- 
port our needs with more particularity. We refer to despatch 
of this date of Major R. G. Lowe, which the committee full}' en 
dorses. 

" All communicants will please accept this answer in lieu of 
direct response and be assured of the heartfelt gratitude of the 
entire population. [Signed] " W. C. JONRS, Ma3^or." 

CARNEGIE'S PRINCELY GIFT. 

The Carnegie Compau}^, of Pittsburg, was foremost in the 
contributions to the relief of the sufferers at Galveston. At the 
meeting of the Chamber of Commerce a motion to contribute $5000 
was under discussion, when a representative of the Carnegie Com- 
pany entered and said that he had been authorized by Mr. Carnegia 



80 CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 

tlirciigli a cablegram to give $10,000 for the distressed. The. an. 
nouncement was greeted with applause. 

GREAT TIDAL WAVES IN THE WORLD S HISTORY. 
The tidal wave along the Texan coast will rank among the 
rdost disastrous in history. History is deficient in the record of 
.nich tragedies in human life, but the records are written m physi- 
cal geography, and are found in the conformation of shore lines, 
here and there, around all the continents. It is impossible to esti- 
mate the number of lives lost through mandations since mankmc 
began for purposes of commercial intercourse, the development of 
seaports. Doubtless the total wonld run into the hundreds of 
thousands, and might reach into millions. 

Geology is quite sure thac '.he rough Norwegian coast, pierced 
at intervals of every few miks with the fiords or estuaries which 
penetrate in many instanc-s leagues into the land, tell the story ot 
many cataclysms such p.s that which has just occurred along the 
northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Science, however, taking no 
note of the traditions or folklore of a people, antedates all human 
life on the Scandinavian peninsula in setting the time when this 
great rising of the sea against the land took place. 

Scientists are agreed on putting the formation of tlie Norwe- 
gian shore lines as far back as the glacial period. But m the 
songs of the skalds, as late as the reign of Harold Hardrada^ there 
are allusions to the valor of olden heroes over whom the seas had 
swept, but whose spirits rode upon the Avinds which blew the Nor- 
man galleys to other shores. In the Norway of the present day 
there are traditions, handed down through counties.^ generations, 
from the remotest antiquity, telling how, but ncc ^^-lien, the seas 
came in. 

OLD AND CHARMING TRADITIO?^. 

One of the oldest and prettiest traditions in the wcrld is that 
which tells of a submerged city somewhere on the Scandin?-.ian 
coast, the minarets and towers of which poets can ste refl .cled m 
the waters at sunset, and the bells of which musicians, v/.h ears 



CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 8S 

divinely attuned to concordant sounds, can hear at vespers. With- 
out either the poet's eye or the musician's ear it is still possible to 
conclude that traditions which have survived so many centuries, 
and which contradict nothing of the exact truth of science as to 
original causes, may be as well trusted as science when it begins to 
speculate, which is all it does when it seeks to prove that the Scan- 
dinavian fiords were in the country before the Scandinavian himself. 

STORY OF THE LOST ATLANTIS. 

The world, with the lapse of centuries, has not even been able 
to outgrow the tradition of the lost Atlantis. Perhaps this is the 
oldest of all traditions of cataclysms which have blotted out cities 
and continents. It may be that it is because this one comes 
handed down to us from the illustrous hand of Plato that we yield 
to it a veneration which prolongs its life. Certainly it can never 
be more than tradition, without a return to the ages of miracles. 
Our lately found expertness in deep sea soundings have given us 
no new light on Atlantis. 

And yet we cling to the old story, and are loath to turn from 
the spectacle of a continent in the agonies of a watery burial, or to 
take down from the walls of our brain cells the pictures of a sub- 
merged world in which sea moss trails over and around great tem- 
ples and monuments. More than half the world believes that there 
is a lost Atlantis, The Egyptians believed so, long before Plato's 
day. It is in the mouth of an Egyptian priest, talking to Solon, that 
Plato puts the description of the vanished land. That description 
makes of Atlantis a land larger than the Texas of to-day. 

BELIEVED THE SEA HAD CONCEALED A LAND. 

The Greek philosopher located it off the shores of North 
Africa, a little to the southwest of Gibraltar. The Platonian de- 
scription of the interior of the Atlantis of ancient times is surpass- 
ingly beautiful, but not more so ^han the rare imaginative power 
xvith which Plato writes of the country and its people, a most fabu- 
lous and engaging history. 

All this, of course, is the work of pure fancy, and only im- 



82 CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALA'ESTON. 

portant, beyond the fact tliat it is tlie work of Plato, as showing 
how deeply the conviction had taken hold upon the mind of that 
age that the sea had taken away a land which the ancients knew 
as the western shore of the -Atlantic Ocean, and had left nothing 
but a boundless waste of waters west of Europe. Speculators have 
located the lost Atlantis near the Canary Islands, and these islands 
are, in fact, supposed to be the remnants of the lost continent. 
There is positively nothing tangible upon which to hang the story 
of the lost Atlantis. 

But, like most traditions which persist in living on after the 
world has grown too practical to have any more use for them, 
it has, doubtless, a foundation in some important fact of olden 
time, the tragedy of which was in that sacrifice of the earth to the 
waters of the deep, which had become familiar even to the ancients. 
Byron's apostrophe to the ocean is so singularl}^ powerful and 
beautiful because it expresses that awe and fear of man for the sea 
which is an instinct with us, and which, if it had not been instinct 
with us at the first, would have become so through the many and 
heavy afflictions visited upon the race by Neptune, god of the sea. 

TIDAL WAVES ON ENGLISH COASTS. 

That the coasts of England have been visited by many and 
disastrous tidal waves there is abundant evidence. In fact, the 
ocean bar, which surrounds nearly the whole of England and Scot- 
land, is evidence enough that the entire shore line, as it exists to- 
day, is itself the result of a great submersion, or series of submer- 
sions, which ages ago overflowed the old coast, rushed in shore, 
made new land lines, and, hollowing out between the new line and 
the old, a new ocean bed, leaving what had been called the coast 
lin^ to be forever after called the "bar." The bar is to be found 
in nearly every port of England, eloquent testimony to the tidal 
waves of the past. But there is comparatively little of other testi- 
mony save such as has been preserved in the records of seaport 
towns. 

One of the greatest cataclysms ever occurring on the British 
coast was that on the coast of Lincolnshire in 1571. This has 



CRY OF DlSlREvSS IN GALVESTO^^ 83 

beeu commemorated in verse by Jean Ingelow in the poem entitled 
" High Tide Off the Coast of Lincolnshire." The Linconshire 
coast is almost uniformly low and marshy — so low, in fact, at some 
places that the shore requires the defence of an embankment to 
save it from the encroachments of the sea. 

A sea wall had been built when the great tidal wave of 1571 
came, but it appears to have been absolutely useless as a defence of 
the country and the people of that time. 

At the present day the fens of Lincolnshire are defended from 
the North Sea by some of the finest engineering works in the 
world, and yet it is much to be doubted whether the}^ would prove 
effective against such invasions as that which has just over- 
whelmed Galveston. 

GREAT INUNDATION OF 1571. 

There are ancient town records in nearly all the seacoast towns 
Oi* Lincolnshire which tell of the inundation of 1571. There was 
then as there is now, a chime of bells in the tower of St. Botolph, 
Boston, and when the tide was seen to be sweeping away the bar- 
riers the Mayor of Boston himself mounted the belfry stairs and 
had played the old love song called ''The Brides of Enderby" as 
an alarm to the country side. 

But the tide came so unheralded, there having been no premo- 
nition of it in storm or tempest, that the meaning of the chimes 
was not understood. Savants have never had an explanation of 
the Lincolnshire tide, coming as it did so unheralded by anything 
threatening a cataclysm. The flood found the people unprepared 
and thousands fell victims to its fury. 

There is nothing in literature, and nothing of course in the 
musty archives of the Lincolnshire towns, conveying as vivid an 
impression of the horror of the day and night as the Ingelow 
verses. They are written in the old, and what now seems to us the 
quaint, English of that day. 

The story is told by an old woman whose daughter, out with 
her two children looking and r-^^^'ner ^x' the cows at eventide, is 
overwhelmed and drowned 



84 CRY OF DISTRESS IN CxALVESTON. 

A REAL TRAGEDY AT GALVESTON. 
Perhaps it is a safe conclusion that the tragedy poetry as set 
for us on the Lincolnshire stage had found expression m real hfe 
along the Texas coasts. The old Lincolnshire woman's plaintive 
narrative has never seemed unreal, because it is filled with the 
spirit of a homely life, but just now it seems like a voice from out 
the past telling us of the tragedy now at our doors. The poem is 
a very long one, but a few selections from its narration of the wide- 
spread desolation of the country will picture much of the gulf coast 
of Texas at this time. The cry of the housewife for the cattle dies 
out in the evening stillness and then the old dame sees the flood : 

And lo, along the river's bed 

A mighty eygre reared his crest. 

And up the river raging sped. 

It swept with thunderous noises loud — 

Shaped like a curling, snow-white cloud, 

Or like a demon in a shroud. 

And rearing Lindus, backward pressed. 
Shook all her trembling banks amain, 
Then madly at the eygre's breast 
Flung uppe her weltering walls again, 
Then bankes came down with ruin and rout, 
Then beaten foam flew round about. 
Then all the mighty floods were out. 

So farre, so fast the eygre drave 
The heart had hardly time to beat 
Before a shallow seething wave 
Sobbed in the grasses at our feet ; 
The feet had hardly time to flee 
Before it brake against the knee — 
And all the world was in the sea. 

That flow strewed wrecks about the grass, 
That ebbe swept out the flocks to sea— 



- CRY OF DISTRESS IN GALVESTON. 85 

A fatal ebbe and flow, alas, 

To many more than mine and me. 

TIDES AND EARTHQUAKES. 

Many of the most fatal tidal waves of which we have any his 
tory, have been accompanied by earthquakes, adding to their hor- 
rors, but making it impossible to say whether the earthquake or 
the inundation has been the more fatal and destructive. The great 
earthquake at Lisbon in 1755 was accompanied by a tidal wave 
v/hich, rolling up the Tagus river from the ocean, submerged all 
the lower parts of the city and destroyed thousands of lives which 
might possibl}^ have escaped the earthquake shocks. 

When the earthquake came to Caraccas in 181 2 there was a 
tidal wave at La Guyra, the entrepot of Caraccas, which destroyed 
many lives. Five years ago a series of tidal waves, accompanied 
by or alternating with earthquake shocks, visited some of the most 
populous islands of Japan. The tidal waves reached from fifteen 
to twenty miles inland, being of such a height, force and volume, 
ten miles from the ocean, particularly when restricted to narrow 
valleys, as to be capable of destroying much life. 

The number of human lives lost at that time has never been 
Lta^ed in any English newspaper, but that it ran far into the thou- 
sands there is no room to doubt. Ten thousand is more apt to be 
an under than an over estimate, such were the ravages of the com- 
bined seismic and cataclysmic terrors visited upon that part of the 
world during nearly a week of days and nights of horror, which, 
fortunately, come but seldom in the experience of the race. 

The affliction of Texas, while much less than this, is still 
monumental, and will always rank among the great catastrophes 
of history. Perhaps there have been events more destructive of 
life in times or places where it was impossible that any record of 
them should be left. But few such are known to history. Nor is 
it likely that the future will .often bring to any part of the world a 
severer affliction than that which has fallen upon our Gulf coast. 



CHAPTER V. 

Vivid Pictures of Suffering in Every Street and House — The 
Gulf City a Gha«tly Mass of Ruins— The Sea Giving Up 
Its Dead — Supplies Pouring in from Every Quarter. 

AS more definite information came from Galveston and tbe 
other coast towns of Texas that were in the path of the 
storm, the horrors of the situation increased. Most people 
were inclined to look upon the first reports, made in a hurry and 
In intense excitement, as grossly exaggerated, but the first reports 
from Texas, far from being overdrawn, greatlj^ understated the 
destructive effects of the storm. 

Thousands of persons lost their lives, and many thousands 
more lo3t all their homes and all their possessions. A large popu- 
Ution was without shelter, clothing, food and medicine, in the 
midst of scenes of wreck and ruin. The sanitary condition of 
Galveston was appalling and threatened a season of pestilence. 

TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS OF THE SURVIVORS. 

The people were undergoing a period of the sharpest depriva- 
tion, sickness prevailed, and intense suffering was in store for 
them. The plight of the city and its inhabitants was such that it 
would be impossible to exaggerate the picture, and demanded from 
the prosperous and humane everywhere the promptest and most 
abundant outpouring of gifts. 

Food, clothing, household goods, provisions of everj^ kind, 
household utensils, medicines and money were needed by the 
stricken city and its impoverished men, women and children- 
There has been no case in our history which appealed more 
strongly for sympathy and aid. 

Former State Senator Wortham, who went to Galveston as the 
special aid to Adjutant-General Scurry to investigate the condi- 
tions there, returned to Austin and made his report. He said: 

"I am convinced that the city is practically wrecked for all 

86 



THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 87 

time to come. Fully seventy-five per cent, of the business portion 
of the town is irreparably wrecked, and the same percent, of dam- 
age is to be found in the residence district. 

" Along the wharf front great ocean steamships have bodily 
bumped themselves on to the big piers and lie there, great masses 
of iron and wood that even fire cannot totally destroy. 

"The great warehouses along the water front are smashed in 
on one side, unroofed and shattered throughout their length, the 
contents either piled in heaps on the wharves or on the streets. 
Small tugs and sailboats have jammed themselves half into build- 
ings, where they were landed by the incoming waves and left by 
the receding waters. Houses are packed and jammed in great 
confusing masses in all of the streets. 

BODIES PILED IN THE STREETS. 

" Great piles of human bodies, dead animals, rotting vegeta- 
tion, household furniture and fragments of the houses themselves 
are piled in confused heaps right in the main streets of the city. 
Along the Gulf front human bodies are floating around like cord- 
wood. Intermingled with them are to be found the carcasses of 
horses, chickens, dogs and rotting vegetable matter. 

" Along the Strand, adjacent to the Gulf front, where are 
located all the big wholesale warehouses and stores, the situation 
almost defies description. Great stores of fresh vegetation have 
been invaded by the incoming waters and are now turned into gar- 
bage piles of most defouling odors. The Gulf waters, while on the 
land, played at will with everything, smashing in doors of stores, 
depositing bodies of human beings and animals where they 
pleased and then receded, leaving the wreckage to tell its own tale 
of how the work had been done. As a result the great houses are 
tombs wherein are to be found the bodies of human beings and 
carcasses almost defying the efforts of relief parties. 

" In the piles of debris along the street, in the water and 
scattered throughout the residence portion of the city, are masses 
of wreckage, and in these great piles are to be found more human 
bodies and household furniture of every description. 



88 THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 

"The waters of the Gulf and the winds spared no one who 
was exposed. Whirling houses around in its grasp the wind piled 
their shattered frames high in confusing masses and dumped their 
contents on top. Men and women were thrown around like so 
many logs of wood. 

ALL SUFFERED INJURY. 
"I believe that with the very best exertions of the men it will 
require weeks to obtain some semblance of physical order in the 
city, and it is doubtful if even then all the debris will be disposed of. 
' "There is hardly a family on the island wl ose household has 
not lost a member or more, and in some instances entire families 
have been washed away or killed. 

"Hundreds who escaped from the waves did so only to become 
the victims of a worse death, being crushed by falling buildings. 
"Down in the business section of the city the foundations of 
great buildings have given way, carrying towering structures to 
their ruin. These ruins, falling across the streets, formed barri- 
cades on which gathered all the floating debris and many human 
bodies. Many of these bodies were stripped of their clothing. 

" Some of the most conservative men on the island place the 
loss of human beings at not less than 7500 and possibly 10,000. 
The live stock on the island has been completely annihilated. 

"I consider that every interest on the island has suffered. Not 
one has escaped. From the great dock company to the humblest 
individual the loss has been felt and in many instances it is irre- 
parable. In cases where houses have been left standing the con- 
tents are more or less damaged, but in the large majority of cases 
the houses themselves did not escape injury." 

At fifteen minutes to four o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday 
the 13th, for the first time since Saturday afternoon at twenty-six 
minutes after four o'clock, Galveston was in telegraphic communi- 
cation with the outside world, although not open for business com- 
pletely. 

The cable left Chicago on Sunday morning and was laid 
across the bay, and several thousand telegraph poles on the main- 



THE GULF CjTY A MASS OF RUINS. 89 

land were straightened up by a force of 250 men under the super- 
vision of superintendents of the Western Union. 

Concerning the great calamity, the destruction of life and 
propert}^, the view expressed by a prominent citizen was very 
generally approved. He said : 

" The people and military of&cers who are dooming Galves- 
ton to eternal ruin would have consigned Lisbon to a lasting 
chaos after her earthquake and decried and abandoned St. 
Louis with vacant crumbling houses after the great cyclone. If 
the citizens of Chicago had listened to their despairing notes, 
blackened fragments of half-fallen walls and shapeless heaps of 
brick and stone would still be the fitting monuments to proclaim 
their broken spirit. 

BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE. 

' But aii the reserves of human energy are summoned forth 
by the very worst disasters, and courage should be written on the 
heart of Galveston. It is the time to lift up the hands of her strong 
men, to give them a word of cheer, for they are bound to the spot 
and must make the best of their fate. A chorus of evil predictions 
simply multiplies their difficulties and is a cruelty to them, 
whether it is intended to be so or not. 

" Let the dismal prophets reflect a moment. Though build- 
ings have been destroyed there is i7ot a foot of land on the island 
that does not represent savings. Though railroad communica- 
tions have been cut off, the cu/rents of commerce by the land 
and by the sea are merely waiting to resume their courses. Their 
is a capital in trade connections which is not necessarily wrecked 
along with wrecked stores, ofB^^es and houses." 

C. J. Seale}^, a young m^n of Galveston, Texas, who was in 
La Junta, Colorado, received a telegram from the Mayor of Gal- 
veston informing him of th<>x death of twenty-one of his relatives, 
among whom were his mv»tlier, two sisters and three brothers. 
The young man said he did not believe he had a relative on earth. 

An eye-witneps of the desolation described the scene as fol- 
lows : 



90 THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 

" Galveston is beginning slowly to recover from tHe stunning 
blow of last week, and tbougb the city appears to-nigbt to be piti- 
lessly desolated, tbe autborities and tbe commercial and industrial 
interests are setting tbeir forces to work, and a start bas at least 
been made toward tbe resumption of business on a moderate scale. 

"Tbe presence of tbe troops bas bad a beneficial effect upon 
tbe criminal classes, and tbe apprebension of a brief but desperate 
reign of anarcby no longer exists. Tbe liquor saloons bave at 
least temporarily gone out of business, and every strong-limbed 
man wbo bas not bis own bumble abode to look after is being 
pressed into service, so tbat, first of all, tbe water service may be 
resumed, tbe gutters flusbed and tbe streets ligbted, 

BODIES CONSTANTLY COMING TO LIGHT. 

''Tbe furtber tbe ruins are dug into tbe greater becomes tbe 
increase in tbe list of tbose wbo perisbed as tbeir bouses tumbled 
about tbeir beads. On tbe lower beacb a searcbing party found 
a score of corpses witbin a small area, going to sbow tbat tbe bul- 
wark of debris tbat lies straigbt across tbe island conceals more 
bodies tban bave been accounted for. 

"Volunteer gangs continue tbeir work of burried burial of tbe 
corpses tbey find on tbe sbores of Galveston Island, at tbe many 
neigbboring points wbere fatalities attended tbe storm. It will 
probably be many days, yet, bowever, before all tbe floating bodies 
bave found nameless graves. 

"Along tbe beacb tbey are constantly being wasbed up. 
Wbetber tbese are tbose wbo were swept out into tbe Gulf and 
drowned or are simply tbe return asbore of some of tbose cast into 
tbe sea to guard against terrible pestilence, tbere is no means of 
knowing. In a trip across tbe bay yesterday I counted seven 
bodies tossing in tbe waves, witb a score of borses and cattle, tbe 
stencb from wbicb was unbearable! In various parts of tbe city 
tbe smell of decomposed flesb is still apparent. Wberever sucb 
instances are found tbe autborities are freely disinfecting. Onl}' 
to-day, a babe, lasbed to a mattress, was picked up under a resi- 
dence in tbe very beart of tbe city and was burned. 



THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. ^t 

" The city still presents the appearance of widespread wrecV 
and ruin. I.ittle has been done to clear the streets of the terrible 
tangle of wires and the masses of wreck, mortar, slate, stone and 
glass that bestrew them. Many of the sidewalks are impassable. 
Some of them are littered with debris. Others are so thickly cov- 
ered with slime that walking on them is out of the question. As' 
d general rule substantial frame buildings withstood better the 
blasts of the gale than those of brick. In other instances, how- 
ever, small wooden structures, cisterns and whole sides of houses 
have been plumped down in streets or back yards squares away 
from where they originally stood. 

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE. 

" Here and there business men have already put men to work 
to repair the damage done, but in the main the commercial inter- 
ests seem to be uncertain about following the lead of those, who, 
apparently, show faith in the rapid rehabilitation of the island city. 
The appearance of the newspapers to-day, after a suspension of 
several days, is having a good effect, and both the News and Tri- 
buue are urging prompt succoring of the suffering, and then equal 
promptness in reconstruction. It is difficult to say yet what the 
ultimate effect of the disaster is to be on the city. Many people 
have left, and some may never return. The experience of others 
still here was so frightful that not all will remain if they can con- 
veniently find occupation in other cities. 

"The bulk of the population, however, is only temporarily panic 
■tricken, and there are hosts of those who helped to make Galves- 
Lon great who look upon the catastrophe as involving only a tem- 
porary halt in the advancement of the city. 

" What is most bothering business men at present is what 
attitude the railroads, and especially the Southern Pacific, are to 
atssume with respect to reconstruction. The decision of the trans- 
portation lines will do more than anything else to restore confi- 
dence. Big ships, new arrivals, rode at anchor to-day in front of 
the city. They had just reached the port, and found the dockj^ 
and pier damage so widespread that no accommodation could be 



92 THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 

given to them. They found sheds torn away, freight cars ovei- 
turned and planking ripped off. 

" The steamships reported ashore in early reports are, save two, 
the Norwegian steamer Gyller and the British steamer Norma, still 
high and dry. 

" No examination is yet possible as to the condition of those 
still on the sand, but the big tug H. C. Wilmott has arrived from 
New Orleans, and her assistance is to be given to saving thOvSe 
vessels which can be gotten into deep water again. Apparently, 
however, Galveston has no immediate need for ships. The 
destruction of the bridges of all the railroads entering the city 
makes it well nigh impossible to furnish outgoing cargoes. These 
bridges were each about three miles in length, and the work of 
recorstruction will be a stupendous undertaking. 

THE CITY STILL IN DARKNESS. 

'• One of the most serious results of the storm has been the 
ripping of the electric light and street car plants. The city has 
been in absolute darkness for several nights, and only a few 
concerns who operate their own illuminating service are enabled to 
do business. Nearly every residence has gone back to the primitive 
candle. The absence of street lights drives all those who have no 
imperative business on the streets to their homes at nightfall, but 
the work of the patrol system is made more difficult thereby and 
the opportunity for looting greater. 

" Among the worst sufferers by the disaster were the churches. 
Nearly every one of them felt the effect of the storm. Some of 
them are entire wrecks, absolutely beyond repair. 

" The work of relief continues energetically. Mayor Jones 
and his associates are bending every nerve to open a direct line of 
transportation with Houston by which he may be enabled promptly 
to receive the great quantity of provisions which are now on the 
way to the city." 

The War Department received the following telegram from 
General McKibben, who was sent to Galveston to report on condi- 
tions there : 



THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 93 

" Arrived at Galveston at 6 P. M., having been ferried across 
6«ty in a yawl boat. It is impossible to adequately describe the 
condition existing. The storm began about 9 A. M. on Saturday, 
and continued with constantly increasing violence until after 
midnight. The island was inundated ; the height of the tide was 
from eleven to thirteen feet. The wind was a cyclone. With few 
exceptions every building in the city is injured. Hundreds are 
entirely destroyed. All the fortifications except the rapid fire 
battery at San Jacinto are practically destroyed. At San Jacinto 
every building except the quarantine station has been swept away. 

" Battery O, First Artillery, lost twenty-eight men. The 
ofiicers and their families were all saved. Three members of the 
hospital corps lost. All bridges are gone, water works destroyed 
and all telegraph lines are down. The city is under control of 
Commmittee of Safety, and is perfectly quiet. Every article of 
equipment or property pertaining to Battery O was lost. Not a. 
record of any kind is left. The men saved have nothing but the 
clothing on their persons. Nearly all are without shoes or clothing 
other than their shirts and trousers. Clothing necessary has been 
purchased, and temporary arrangements made for food and shelter. 
There are many thousand citizens homeless and absolutely destitute 
who must be clothed, sheltered and fed. Have ordered 20,000 
rations and tents for 1000 from Sam Houston. Have wired Com- 
missary-General to ship 30,000 rations by express. Lieutenant 
Perry will make his way back to Houston and send this telegram. 

"McKlBBEN." 

ALARMING RUMORS FROM GALVESTON. 

The authorities at Galveston on the 13th prohibited the entry 
ir;to the city of any one but men willing to work. Six hundred 
women and children fled from Galveston and came to Houston. 
The smell of the dead attained to the stifling point. Five hundred 
more bodies recovered from the debris were cremated in one pile. 
Several of the women who arrived at Houston from Galveston were 
fever t)p<-i/^nts. They V7?*'e removed to ambulances from the train in 
aucccners. It was evident that the city was on the verge of an 



^4 THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RTjINS. 

epidemic, if, indeed, it was not already in its tliroes. There were 
serious indications tliat the authorities were suppressing the facts. 
The eagerness of the Board of Health that two miles of wreck 
be burned, whether it threatened to consume the other portion of 
the city or not, and the frantic haste of the police to get every 
woman and child out of the city, coupled with an order issued that 
no one be admitted to the island except for work, not even relatives 
of victims or anxious ones searching for relatives, and the seizure 
of the railroad running to Texas City to prevent people going to 
Galveston, all contributed to stamp the situation as beyond the 
control of the handful of inexperienced men in authority. The 
consensus of opinion of prominent Houston people who returned 
from the city was that the Federal Government owed it to the 
country to intervene at once. Otherwise, the danger of contagion 
to neighboring cities and States must continue to multiply each 
day. 

AUTHORITIES AT ODDS. 

Galveston, Texas, September 13. — (By Western Union de 
spatch boat to Houston.) — General McKibben, commanding the 
Department of Texas, his aide, and Adjutant-General, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Roberts, arrived here last night. General Scurry, Adju- 
tant-General of Texas, also came in from Austin. Two companies 
of regulars from Fort Sam Houston also arrive, ,i. Galveston is 
now under martial law, by whose orders has not been proclaimed, 
and friction has already arisen between the civil authorities and 
the military. 

The sentinels on the street corners do not recognize the passes 
issued by Mayor Jones, and ignore him and his police force. If a 
person cannot give a good excuse for being on the street aftor 9 P. 
M., he is marched off to jail. Mayor Jones is highly indignant 
because his authority is usurped, and law-abiding citizens are hot 
because they are held up when they are on an errand of relief to 
some stricken friend or famil3^ This is a matter which will be 
brought I0 the attention of General McKibben and Adjutant-Gen- 
eral Scurry, and Mayor Jones will demand that his authority as 



THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUJNS. 95 

Chief Executive of the city be respected and recognized by tlie 
military. 

Houston is the haven of the unfortunate people of Galveston. 
Trains have already brought in between 500 and 1,000 of the sur- 
vivors, and a motley crowd they are. Men bareheaded, barefooted, 
hatless and coatless, with swelled feet and bruised and blackened 
bodies and heads were numerous. Women of wealth and refine- 
ment, frequently hatless, shoeless, with gowns in shreds, were 
among the refugees. Sometimes there would be a man, wife and 
child or two, but such cases were rare, nearly all of those who came 
in having suffered the loss of one or more of their family. Never 
were there so many sad hearts. Men bereft of their wives and 
children, women who were widowed, children who were orphaned — 
it was enough to touch the heart of anyone. Never was there 
more heroism shown. 

Although a week ago these people had happy homes, they are 
now homeless and penniless, but they bear up bravely. There is 
no whimpering, no complaining. They were all made to feel that 
Houston is now their home, that they are welcome, and that every- 
thing possible for their comfort and welfare will be done. They 
are being housed and fed, and those in need of medical attention 
are placed in the hospitals, where they receive every care. Many 
of the refugees to reach Houston had tasted little or no food since 
the storm. 

NO LIMIT TO HOUSTON'S HOSPITALITY. 

A mass meeting of the General Relief Committee was held 
on the 13th to discuss the best method of handling the crowds of 
people who were expected to come in from Galveston within the 
next two or three days. It was decided to pitch the Government 
tents in Emancipation Park in Houston, as there is no suitable 
place in Galveston where they can be put up. Mayor Brashear 
sent a communication to Mayor Jones, of Galveston, urging that 
all persons be sent to Houston from that place as quickly as pos- 
sible, and gave assurance that they would be amply provided for. 

By "all persons" Mayor Brashear meant that not only those 



96 I'HE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 

who are injured or destitute should come, but it included every- 
bod3^ He wished it distinctly understood that Houston was pre- 
pared to care for all of those who left Galveston, whether they were 
sick or well, rich or poor. It was his belief and the belief of those 
associated with him on the General Relief Committee that Galves- 
ton must be depopulated until sanitation can be completed, and all 
people have been urged to come from that city to Houston. -. 

THRILLING EXPERIENCE OF TWO HOUSTON WOMEN. 

Mrs. Bergman, wife of Manager Bergman, of the Houston 
Opera House, gave a thrilling account of her escape during the 
Galveston storm. She w^as summering in a cottage on Rosenberg" 
avenue, two blocks back from the beach, at lo o'clock on Saturday. 
The water was up about three feet, and she donned a bathing suit 
and proceeded to the Olympia to talk over the long distance phone 
to her husband at Houston. At the Olympia she was waist deep 
in water. At 2 o'clock the water about her house was so deep she 
became alarmed, and in a bathing suit she and her sister evacuated 
the high cottage they occupied. 

The neighbors living in the next house, being old Galves- 
tonians, laughed at them. Out of that family of fifteen there were 
saved three, and they only because they were down town. Mrs. 
Bergman and her sister started for the Central Telephone office, 
the water being from waist to armpit deep. Both are expert 
swimmers, and they buffeted the wdnds and waves for several 
blocks. Finally they spied a negro with a dray. They chartered 
him for two dollars to take them to the Central Telephone Station. 
After proceeding tv/o blocks the mule was drowned, and all were 
washed off the dray, the negro being lost. 

Mrs. Bergman and her sister, by w^ading and swimming, 
reached the telephone station, and found refuge until the firemen 
commenced to bring dead bodies into the building. Then they 
concluded to go to Belton's livery stable, where Mr. Bergman kept 
his horse. This was the hardest part of the trip, although the 
distance was only 600 yards. It was in the heart of the city, and 
glass, bricks, slate and timbers flew in showers. 



THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 9' 

At Belton's they remained until next morning. At 6 o'clock 
Sunday morning, tlie storm having abated, they started back to 
their home. The only vestige of it or of the houses for blocks 
around was a hitching-post. All was a sandy waste, la the back 
yard lay a dead hahy. This frightened them, but before going far 
on the way back they saw scores of dead bodies, and men, women) 
and children maimtd and bleeding, homeless and bereft of family. 

It was an awful night and day they put in, with nothing on 
but bathing suits, and nothing to eat. Passing a store they saw^ 
the plate glass windows all broken. The background was lined' 
with black cloth. This they seized, and securing a pair of scissors 
at the stable and needles and thread, they soon had two well- 
fitting and well-made gowns, which they wore until they reached 
Houston. 

TRANSPORT TO CARRY PROVISIONS. 

Acting Secretary of War Mieklejohn issued orders placing the 
transport McPherson at the services of the Citizens' Committee of 
the Merchants' Association of New York for the immediate trans- 
portation of provisions donated for the relief of the storm sufferers 
at Galveston. 

The people who had been raising contributions and supplies 
in New York asked President McKinley for a transport, and the 
War Department acted immediately on the request. It was 
expected that the McPherson would leave within seventy-two hours 
and sail direct for Galveston. It was suggested by the War De- 
partment that the relief committees of Washington, Baltimore and 
Philadelphia and other cities in reach of New York by rail within 
a few hours, place themselves at once in touch with the Chairman 
of the Relief Committee of New York, in order that clothing, sup- 
plies and food might be forwarded promptly to the carrying capacity 
of the McPherson. 

Austin, Tex., September 13. — Alvin and other points along 
the coast are crying piteously for aid. They say that they have 
been overlooked in the general relief fund and that with all their 
property destroyed, their hopes gone, no clothing, no provisions. 



98 THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 

they are fit subjects for the hand of charity along with the untor- 
tunates from Galveston. Governor Sayers promptly wired them 
that they should be looked after. 

Touching on the subject of needs of the flood sufferers and 
the funds being furnished him for the purpose, Governor Sayers 
stated to-day that it would take at least one million and possibly a 
million and one-half to render the assistance that would be bene- 
ficial to the flood sufferers. Many of them will have to be sup- 
ported for possibly the next two months, and it will require an 
immense amount of money to do this, inasmuch as there are esti- 
mated to be 10,000 destitute at Galveston and fully twice that 
many along the main shore. 

From points along the coast comes the report that a great 
amount of wreckage is being thrown up by the Gulf and hundreds 
of people have wandered miles down the coast, seeking among the 
wreckage for valuables. The household property of Galveston peo- 
ple is strewn from Rockport in Mantagorda Bay along 200 miles 
of coast front. Every conceivable household article is to be found 
strewn along the sands. Valuables are literally lining the coast. 
Trunks, valises, bureaus, chests and the like are being deposited 
on the shore. 

People are pouring up from the coast by the train load. Many 
are going to relatives in the central and northern part of the State, 
and others are stopping in Houston. Of course, this applies to the 
more prosperous class of the Galvestonians, if there can be anj; 
such now. 

MONEY AND SUPPLIES FOR THE SUFFERERS. 

The subscriptions in New York up to Thursda}^, the i3th^ for 
the relief of the Galveston sufferers were : 

Merchants' Association, $52,099; Mayors' Fund, $7000; New 
York Mercantile Exchange Fund, $2000 ; New York Cotton 
Exchange Fund, $5300; New York Stock Exchange Fund, $11,- 
100; New York Produce Exchange Fund, $10,500; Chamber of 
Commerce Fund, $25,000; miscellaneous subscriptions, $30,000. 
Total, $142,994. 



THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 90 

The transport McPherson left at noon Monday, the 7th, for 
Jalveston, carrying supplies which were contributed through 'the 
Merchants' Association. 

The Citizens' Committee of the association deposited in bank 
$26,^-]^^ making a gross total of $40,526 so deposited. Secretary 
Corwine immediately afterward wired Governor Sayers authorizing 
him to draw $12,000 in addition to the $12,000 offered the day 
before. Mayor Jones, of Galveston, was also notified of the tele- 
grams of the Governor. 

The steamer Kl Sud, of the Morgan Line, sailed for Galveston 
with a large contribution of food supplies and clothing for the 
Relief Committee, which was contributed through the Merchants' 
Association. 

A despatch from Clark, South Dakota, says that Governor 
Roosevelt has authorized Colonel William J. Young, of the Execu- 
tive Department of Albany, N. Y., to issue an appeal for aid on 
behalf of the Galveston sufferers. J. Pierpont Morgan was named 
by the Governor as chairman of such committee and authorized to 
receive subscriptions. 

CLARA BARTON GOES TO TEXAS. 

Miss Clara Barton, President of the National Red Cross, and 
her staff, left for Galveston, accompanied by Mary Agnes Coombs, 
the Secretary of the Executive Committee in New York during the 
Spanish war. 

It was the intention of the Salvation Army to equip a hospital 
car for Galveston. There were to be physicians and nurses on 
board and a large supply of hospital necessities. This car will be 
kept at Galveston as long as needed. 

A meeting of Americans, resident and transient, in Paris was 
held at the Chamber of Commerce on September 13th for the pur- 
pose of devising a method for raising funds to assist the sufferers 
at Galveston. The United States Ambassador, General Horace 
Porter, was elected President ; George Monroe, the banker, was 
made Treasurer, and Francis Kimball was appointed Secretary. 
Resolutions of sympathy with the people of Galveston were 



100 THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 

adopted, and a subscription list was opened, witli the result that 
inside of fifteen minutes 50,000 francs were donated. 

A committee of seven was appointed to carry out the plans of 
the meeting, which included canvassing the American colony m 
Paris. The French papers also opened subscription lists, many 
Frenchmen having expressed a desire to subscribe. 

R. P. W. Houston, member of Parliment and head of the 
Houston Line of Steamers, cabled $5000 to Galveston for the 
relief of the sufferers. 

SYMPATHY FROM FRANCE. 
The following telegrams passed between the Presidents 01 
France and the United States : 

" Rambouillet, Presidence, September 12, 1900.— To His Ex- 
cellency the President of the United States of America : The news 
of the disaster which has just devastated the State of Texas, has 
deeply moved me. The sentiments of traditional friendship which 
unite the two Republics can leave no doubt in your mind concern- 
ing the very sincere share that the President, the Government of 
the Republic and the whole nation take in the calamity that has 
proved such a cruel ordeal for so many families in the United 
States. It is natural that France should participate in the sadness 
as well as in the joy of the American people. I take it to heart to 
tender to your Excellency our most heartfelt condolences, and to 
send to the families of the victims the expression of our afEicted 
sympathy. ^^"^^ LoubeT." 

"Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C. September 13, 1900. 
—His Excellency, Emile Loubet, President of the French Republic, 
Rambouillet, France: I hasten to express, in the name of the 
thousands who have suffered by the disaster in Texas, as well as 
in behalf of the whole American people, heartfelt thanks for your 
touching message of sympathy and condolence. 

"WiLLAM McKlNLEY." 

In response to an inquiry telegraphed to Colonel A. H. Belo, 
publisher of the Dallas News and of the Galveston News, the fol- 



THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUlNS. 101 

lowing hopeful estimate of the business future and prospects of 
Galveston was received : 

"Although in the middle of our overwhelming disaster, the 
full extent of which can only be approximately estimated, the citi- 
zens of Galveston held a meeting on Sunday afternoon, as soon as 
they possibly could after the great storm. At this meeting the 
sentiment expressed was a grim and undaunted resolution to re- 
build the island city. They said : 

'' 'Galveston must rise again.' 

" They fully realize the vastness of their misfortune and the 
magnitude of their task to repair it, 3^et, amid all the wreck and 
havoc that the elements have wrought they say, with determination, 
that as soon as they bury their dead and provide for the immedi- 
ate necessities of their living and destitute ones, they will set 
about to clear away the debris, and begin anew their lives of toil 
and energy on their storm-stricken island. 

^' They are inspired with the sentiment that Galveston must 
rally, must survive and must fulfill a glorious destiny, as the great 
entry port of the Southwest. As in the case of the great Johns- 
town disaster, in 1889, the whole American people have responded 
with alacrity to their cries for help, and with such aid to assist and 
such sympathy to inspire them, they will surely meet the success 
that their patriotic efforts so richly merit. A. H. Belo." 

STORY OF DEATH AND RUIN. 

Reviewing the situation it may be said that again were 
heard the cries of those in the wilderness of devastation asking for 
succor, for again, as a score of times before, Galveston and sur- 
rounding coast towns are the scenes of death and desolation. Homes 
razed and washed away by the waters that have claimed their occu- 
pants as victims of death and horror, has more than once been the 
story from the shores of the Gulf 

History is now repeating itself, and the repetition has become 
frequent since i860. While severe storms sweep the Atlantic 
coast between the mouth of the Savannah River and the Chesa- 
peake, still the resultant damage is far less north of Savannah and 



102 THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 

the Cape Fear River. This is because the land is higher, serving 
as a barrier to the encroachments of the sea, while the further 
south one goes, it will be found, the land is lower, increasing the 
liability of becoming submerged by heavy inshore winds and tidal 
waves. 

Florida, Louisiana and Texas coast cities are but a few feet 
above high tide register and .therefore the more subject to overflow. 
To compute the total loss of life and property from the storms 
which from time to time have devastated the coast of the Gulf of 
Mexico it would be found the loss of human life would extend well 
into the thousands, while tens of millions of dollars have been laid 
waste. 

STORMS THAT BROUGHT DESOLATION. 

There have been many such storms before whose fury has been 
felt by the coast people. One of the worst storms was in Septem- 
ber, i860, which caused ruin and death from Rio Grande to Mobile, 
and when the waters had subsided the loss could be figured at 
$3,000,000. 

Then in October of the same year, one month later, another 
storm swept down upon Galveston and Houston, and $5,000,000 
had been wiped out. There were other storms of less violence, as, 
for instance, in June, 1891, when a southeast wind blew a hurri- 
cane for four days and the city was inundated and shipping was 
seriously crippled. 

There was another fearful visitation on September 17, 1875. 
A good part of the city was under water several feet deep. Vessels 
were wrecked and the City Hospital was filled with water and the 
Ocean House, on Gulf Beach, crumbled and fell and floated away 
in remnants. Thirty lives \vere lost. It was the hardest storm 
since 1867 up to that time. The storm raged for several days. 

Indianola, one hundred and twenty miles southwest of Gal- 
veston, was almost totally destroyed. More than one hundred and 
fifty of its inhabitants were found dead in the ruins of their homes. 
Nearly all of its three thousand houses were unroofed or badly 
damaged, and $7,000,000 in money has gone to waste. 



THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 103 

A hunicane on the lower Texas coast and in Mexico on 
August 20, 1880, carried destruction far and wide. As many as 
three hund/ed houses in Matamoras, Mexico, were demolished, 
even brick buildings offering no more resistance than so many 
toys. Brownsville, Texas, saw its houses unroofed and the infantry 
barracks were demolished, and twenty-eight army horses and 
several mules were killed. A convent did not escape damage, and 
several of the occupants were inj ured by falling debris. 

The railroads, quarantine stations and the lighthouses were 
seriously damaged. Thirty lives were lost and property damaged 
was estimated at $1,000,000. T^^"'^ hurricane was followed by one 
of equal violence on the Mexican coast, which completely wiped 
out the town of Altata and the port of that name. Not one house 
was left standing and ships in the harbor suffered greatly. 

ATLANTIC COAST ALSO SWEPT. 

Savannah, Ga., has not escaped the fury of the southern gale. 
The city suffered severely in 1881, the waters rushing into the 
streets and causing the death of four hundred persons by drowning. 
Four million dollars, it was said, was the amount of the damage to 
property. In 1893 Savannah was visited by another cyclone and 
forty persons were killed. This time the property damage was 
$7,000,000. 

Havana, Cuba, and the West Indies were visited by a destruc- 
tive hurricane in September, 1888. One thousand persons were 
killed and hundreds of head of cattle were killed. The loss was 
$7,000,000. 

Sabine Pass, which is the dividing line between Texas and 
Louisiana, was swept by a terrific storm in October, 1886. The 
population of the town was about four hundred. Of these one 
hundred and twenty-six perished and 90 per cent, of the deaths w^as ' 
caused by drowning. Four houses escaped injury. 

The coast of Mexico was devastated for three days in the fall 
of 1889 by a destructive cyclone, which first struck the coast of 
Campeachy. There was a drenching rain which played havoc 
along the peninsula for miles, The wind was 30 furious in the 



104 THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 

city of Carmen it uprooted trees, depositing them upon houses 
which they crushed. All the shipping in the harbor was wrecked. 
Twelve foreign barks were wrecked. Some were thrown high and 
dry on the beach, while others were submerged. Two steamships, 
many schooners and many smaller craft were wrecked. There 
was great loss of life. 

A hurricane from the West Indies, which swept up the 
Atlantic coast, did great damage to Savannah, Ga., on Tuesday. 
September 30, 1896. Wind blew at a velocity of seventy-five miles 
an hour for an hour and a half. Hardly a building escaped, and 
thousands of houses were unroofed. The damage was $1,000,000, 
and twenty-two persons were killed. The roof of the United States, 
Pension Of&ce was blowm off. Railroad stations, churches, theatres 
and the Bonaventure Cemetery were ruined, monuments being 
overturned. 

The hurricane started from the West Indies. It went from 
Brunswick, Ga., to Savannah ; thence it plunged through and into 
Pennsylvania, where the damage done was tremendous. The large 
railroad bridge over the Susquehanna River was wrecked. 

HARDEST STORM FOR MANY YEARS.] 

One of the worst cyclonic storms of recent years was that on 
August 29, 1893, which carried havoc and destruction even into 
our own city, although this city escaped its utmost fury, although 
there came tales of shipwrecks at sea. It was a West Indian 
hurricane that originated in the West Indies on August 25, and 
reached our shores at Savannah, Ga., two days later. The storm 
passed through North and South Carolina, Virginia and West 
Virginia and into the southwestern part of Pennsylvania. 

All the Atlantic coast States suffered. Port Royal, S. C, was 
frightfully damaged. The streets of Charleston, S. C, were 
literally filled with debris, parts of roofs, signs, awnings, telegraph 
poles and building material being jumbled together in an inextrica- 
ble mass of wreckage. The streets were flooded with water. All 
the phosphate works were blown down or badly injured. One odd 
sight in the old city was a schooner lying high and dry in a street. 



THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 105 

One of our journals commented as follows on the storm that 
wrought unparalleled damage : 

" With the passage of the great hurricane out to sea over the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence the most destructive chapter in the history 
of storm movements in the United States was closed. Just what 
the total of life, property and crop losses will be is even now not 
(^ascertainable with any sure degree of accuracy, but that it will 
I surpass all earlier estimates cannot be questioned. 

TIMELY WARNINGS WERE GIVEN. 

" Moving into the Gulf of Mexico, just west of Florida, on 
Thursday, September 6, in its week's circuit of the United States, 
the hurricane has at least caused a loss of 5000 lives and prob- 
ably many more, and has destroyed and damaged property to 
the extent of $15,000,000. And yet, after its probable direction 
and the curve of its track were ascertained on Friday, September 
7, no great cyclonic disturbance has been more carefully watched 
or the menace of its forward movement more decisively pointed 
out. 

" It is to be regretted that though the Friday warnings of the 
Weather Bureau caused apprehensions in Galveston, few realized 
the extreme gravity of the situation. The bureau, however, did 
its full duty, and its subsequent warnings with respect to the 
passage of the cyclone over the lakes were fully justified. The 
path the hurricane took between September 6 and September 12 
meteorologically was most instructive and will unquestionably 
prove of great value in future forecasts. And yet it followed the 
normal rule and kept on skirting an area of high barometer that 
lay over the Southern States, the lakes and the Middle States. 
From the moment the cyclone was first " held up " by the high 
pressure anti-cyclone on Thursday it kept to the left of it, and so 
was diverted westward with such disasterous results for Galveston. 

"Though it may seem to some paradoxical to say so, the clear, 
bracing weather of yesterday, accompanied, as it was, by the strong 
winds from the south and southwest, was the hurricane's contribu- 
tion to northern weather. To most people who find great difiicult}- 



106 THE GULF CITY A MASS OF RUINS. 

in undei-standing the two-fold movement in cyclonic storms — .^ue 
translation of the storm as a whole along its track and the circula- 
tion of the winds in the whirl itself — the idea that clear weather is 
part of a storm movement will seem strange, and yet such is the 
case. 

" If you are in the right quadrant and far enough from the 
; vortex, or storm center, though it will control the winds in youi 
vicinage, cloudless and rainless weather may easily be your lot 
And this was our experience, for the cyclone at 8 A. M. was cen- 
tral over Quebec, whither it had traversed from Des Moines, Iowa, 
over iS'oo miles, in a direct line, northeast from where it was cen- 
tral or* Tuesday morning the nth, at 8 o'clock. 

TERRIBLE VELOCITY OF WIND. 

" The rate at which it made this jump, taking in the lakes in 
passing, was at the speed of fifty miles an hour, while the cyclonic 
winds kept blowing into the centre at a velocity of seventy miles 
an hour. That these two motions have nothing in common is 
shown by the fact that on Saturday, when the vertical velocities 
were at their height, ninety-six miles from the northeast and lOO 
from the southeast at Galveston, the cyclone was moving on its 
track from the Gulf to the interior of Texas at the sluggish pace 
of ten and one-half miles an hour. It was this slow rate which had 
prevailed ever since August 5 that accentuated all the evils of the 
rotary circulation, for as the centre passed slowly over Galveston 
it gave the cyclonic winds full opportunity to pile up the waters and 
buffet and wreck the buildings. 

" Fortunately v/e were over 400 miles from the vortex, and, 
though we were within the sphere of its southern winds, they 
merely proved an annoyance through the excessive dust and were 
jiot disastrous. On the New England coast, as well as over the^ 
lakes, the winds were stiffer, and we are yet to hear the full story 
of the cyclone's journey from gulf to gulf. Meteorologicallj^, it isl 
now a closed record, so far as the United States goes, but, unfor-^ 
tunately for Galveston, the horror of the visitation grows as access 
to the stricken town reveals the full extent of the devastation. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Two Survivors Give Harrowing Details of the Awful Disas- 
ter — Hundreds Eager to Get Out of Galveston. 
Clearing up the Wreckage. 

ALEXANDER and Stanley G. Spencer, the two sons of Stanley 
G. Spencer, of Philadelphia, who was killed in Galveston, 
reached Philadelphia Monday afternoon, the 17th. Mrs. Spencer 
was to come north later when their affairs in the stricken city 
are settled, and would bring the body of Mr. Spencer, which was 
embalmed and placed in a metallic coffin in a vault in Galveston. 

The two boys left Galveston at 9 o'clock Friday morning. 
It took them until 3.30 in the afternoon to reach Houston, which 
is only about fifty miles distant from Galveston. " All the society 
ladies of Houston met the train," said Alexander, the older of 
the two boys. " They brought clothes and food for the people." 

The boys told a remarkable story of their experiences during 
the flood. "Storm warnings were sent out on Friday," said 
Alexandei, "but nobody paid much attention to t'nem ; only a 
little blow was expected. This did not come until Saturday after- 
noon. It first started with a chilly wind. Things looked rather 
dark and haxy and black, rapidly moving clouds sped by. Papa had 
finished woi k at the office and was getting ready to come home, 
when he received a telegram from the North telling hird to meet 
Mr. Lord, with whom he was to conduct business relative to the 
buying of property. 

Papa telephoned us that he would not be home for several 
hours on account of this business. That is why we were not 
worried abotit him. He and Mr. Lord met in Ritter's cafe, and it 
was there that he was killed. He was sitting on a desk, with his 
hands clasped over his head, a favorite position of his, talking to 
Mr. Lord and a Greek, named Marcleitis. 

"Ritter's cafe was in a strongly-built brick building, which 
^'as •■bought to be very safe, but, unfortunately, it was at the foot 

107 



[Qg HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER- 

of a short street leading to tlie wharf. This gave the wind from 
the Gulf full sweep against it. There were several other men in 
the cafe, and one of them said : 'Why, did you all know there are 
just thirteen people in this room ? ' Papa laughed, and remarked 
that he was not superstitious. Just then the crash came, killing 
five out of the thirteen. In the floor above the cafe was a large 
printing establishment. A beam hurled down by the weight of 
the presses above struck papa, killing him instantly. His body 
was dug out of the ruins Sunday afternoon by about a hundred 
friends, and his was the first funeral in Galveston." 

" Were you frightened much ? " 

"No we were not very scared, because we had no idea how 
terrible the storm was. We were not worried about papa, thinking 
he was safer, even, than we were. We secured the shutters and saw 
that the windows were braced. After that we sat quietly on the 
first floor. The water never did get above the basement, as the 
house is situated on an eminence. After a while seven people 
whom we did not know came in and asked for shelter, as their 
homes were flooded. 

THE STORM GROWS WORSE. 

" When the storm kept growing steadily worse we got a rope 
ready, so that if the worst came we could all be tied together. 
One family whom I knew did this. They tied loop knots around 
their wrists. All were drowned together and all were buried 
in the same hole. All night long we could hear cries for help. 
To every one who came we gave shelter. Once some one knocked 
at the door ; when we opened it a woman fell headlong across the 
doorstep. She had fairted from exhaustion. We found a little 
girl in the basement, who had been tied to a skiff She seemed 
dazed, and kept talking about a beautiful carriage she had seen. 

"We did not know what she meant, but next morning we 
saw a neighbor's carriage perched high on top of a pile of wreck- 
age. Even when we looked out of the window we could not tell 
the extent of the damage. The moon rose, giving a very clear 
light, by which we could see objects floating around. It did not 



HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 109 

rain. Tlie people were drowned by the water backing up from 
the bay and tbe Gulf.' 

"At first tbe wind was to tbe northeast. This backed the 
water up from the west bay. Suddenly it turned to the southeast, 
causing a tidal wave. The water was from four to six feet deep. 
Two of the observers remained in observatory all night. The 
wind gauge broke when the wind was blowing from 115 to 125 
miles an hour. 

HOUSES IN FRIGHTFUL COLLISION. 

"A house was washed against ours. In it the wreckers found 
eight bodies, three of these and a night sergeant of police were 
buried in one yard. Our house rocked dreadfully. It and the two 
houses on either side of it, are old houses built over. No one 
thought they could stand the fury of the gale ; but they were the 
only three left standing in that part of the city. Mr. Frank 
Groome and Mr. Hall had to swim home. The house in which 
Mr. Hall spent the night was split in two, but the side he was in 
was left standing. If the wind had continued for two hours longer, 
there would not have been one person left to tell the tale. When 
the storm first started my brother and I went to the beach to watch 
the water. 

"Even then the water was backing up in the gutters and the 
little whitecaps were dancing on the waves. The steps of our 
house were washed away, but Sunday morning we found the body 
of a woman lodged in the brick work. Our pet donkey was 
drowned, but we saved the dogs and the cats as they were in the 
house. There were five big dogs and three little puppies. Paddy, 
a big dog, would sit around looking at us. He kept whining the 
whole time as if he knew something unusual was going on. They 
say black cats are lucky. Well, we had three of them. These 
would rub up against us in a frightened way. 

" Sunday morning, Mr. Groome came out to tell us about papa. 
Mrs. Brown, a friend of mamma's, sent for us to come to her house. 
Nearly all the furniture of her house was ruined by the water. 
The surrender of the city of Galveston to the Union troops was 



110 HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 

written in lier house and tlie table on wliicli it was written is still 
there. We had a hard time getting to Mrs. Brown's. We walked 
part of the way. A colored man with a bony horse hitched to a 
rickety little delivery wagon — 'dago carts,' we call them — hauled 
us the rest of the way for a dollar a piece. All through the streets 
we met hysterical women and dazed-looking men. 

" The wife of Dr. Longino, an army surgeon, was at a friend's 
house, with her little baby, when the storm commenced. During 
the storm, from fright or something else, the baby lost its breath. 
Everybody thought the child was dead and tried to persuade Mrs. 
Ivongino to leave it and try to save herself but she would not do 
so. She caught hold of the baby's tongue and held it so it coi Id 
not retard the passage of air in the windpipe.' 

TRYING TO SAVE THE CHILD'S LIFE. 

"She blew her own breath into the baby's body. After work- 
ing for a long time, during the most terrible part of the storm, the 
baby was revived and is still living. She kept her invalid aunt 
alive by pinching her cheeks. The next day she reached a place 
of safety in the city. She said she could hardly walk along the 
beach for the bodies of children. There was a Catholic orphanage 
about five miles down the beach, in which were a hundred children 
and ten nuns. All of these but three boys were killed. 

" One woman who was trjdng to save a child was pinned 
down by a piano. She was just about to give herself up for lost 
when a big wave came and v/ashed the piano off of her. She and 
the child were both rescued. We kept a little pet lamb alive, 
which afterwards we thought we would have to kill for food. But 
Mrs. Brown got a calf somewhere. It was killed and cleaned, but 
the ladies themselves had to cut it up. This served for food for 
two days. The two big cisterns in the cellar were full of salt 
water; there was a small one on the roof which furnished us with 
water lor a little while. After that we had to beg it from the 
neighbors. 

"The only clothes we have are what we have on 
and one change of underclothes, which we took with us when 



HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. Ill 

we went to Mrs. Brown's. All tlie rest of our clothes are 
mildewed. 

"We did not see any of tlie negroes stealing, as mother kept 
us in the house all the time, but we could hear the shots. They 
commenced this dastardly work Sunday night. The ghouls ar: 
composed of negroes and foreigners. We did not get very fright- 
ened when people kept coming to us for help the night of the 
storm. All we could do was to thank God that He had given 
us a place of shelter which we could share with those less 
fortunate." 

THREATENED WITH PESTILENCE. 

A visitor to the stricken city made the following report: 

"Galveston's stress and desolation grows with each recurring 
hour. Pestilence, famine, fire, thirst and rapine menace the 
stricken city. Each refugee from the storm-lashed island brings 
tidings which add to the tale of the city's woe. 

" Of the dead that lie in piles in the desolated streets and dot 
the waters that girdle the city, the true number will never be 
known. All estimates of the total of the victims of Saturday's 
night's tempest must be qualified with the mark of interrogation. 
It is not conjecture to say that the death roll in Galveston alone 
will hardly fall short of 5000. Sober-sensed men, who have 
brought to the outer world conservative accounts of sights and 
scenes in the hapless city, say that there are 10,000 dead people 
within a half dozen miles of Galveston's centre. No one disputes 
that the storm victims number the half of 10,000. 

"Men who have lived through the yellow fever scourge in 
New Orleans and other Southern cities, where the dead in the 
streets were more numerous than the living, hold those horrors 
lightly in comparison with the conditions that exist in Galveston. 

" In devious ways news of the situation that confronts the 
living in Galveston comes to this city. There is no telegraphic 
communication with the island. There is no train service. 
Boats are plying at irregular intervals across the ba3^ No one 
in the city has time to send forth to the world more than meagrt 



112 HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 

accounts of the situation in tlie city. The bulk of the news is 
gleaned from refugees who are fleeing to Houston. A few rail- 
road men have penetrated into the desolated city and returned 
with fragmentary accounts of the perils that menace the living, 
and the gruesome work that is being carried on day and night 
to ward off the contagion that is threatened by the hundreds of 
corpses that lie corrupting under the hot sun. 

" It will be days before a fairly accurate estimate of the loss ol 
life can be made. Arrivals from Galveston to-night tell that 
citizens are laboring unceasingly at disposing of the dead in order 
that the living may not suffer. 

"To graves beneath the blue waters of the Gulf the dead are 
being consigned as fast as they can be loaded upon barges and 
towed to sea. There is no other way. The city must be rid of 
them. No more than a tithe of the bodies can be interred. So 
soaked is the ground that trenches fill with water as fast as the 
shovel can lift the earth. 

FIERCE HEAT ADDS TO THE HORROR. 

" There is need of laborers in the city. The remnants of the 
fire department and police force, both of which organizations con- 
tributed many victims to the storm, are doing heroic work. Their 
efforts are supplemented by the citizens. Hordes of negroes, kin, 
many of them, to the unspeakable creatures who preyed upon the 
dead in their hunger for loot, have been commandeered and forced 
to lend their strength in delving in the ruins for corpses. Stern- 
faced men with shot guns and rifles stand over them and keep 
them to their toil. It is heartbreaking work but it is necessary. 

" Since the storm blew itself away the weather has been semi- 
tropical. For four days the sun has sent down its fiercest darts. 
The result may be imagined. Over the city hangs the naaseat- 
ing stench of decomposing flesh. Besides the humans there are 
thousands of carcasses of domestic animals scattered through the 
devastated portions of the city. Galveston is in need of everything 
that charity and compassion can suggest. But above all the cit-^r 
requires disinfectants. 



HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. llr'i 

"Heroic measures were adopted by the citizens in charge of the 
work of policing and rehabilitating the city. It was determined 
to fire the ruins and purify the city by flame. This must be done. 
Hundreds of bodies will be cremated in the p3a-es. Fire is the 
best disinfectant that the city has at its command. People from 
cUe vicinity of Galveston report to-night that heavy clouds of smoke i 
have shrouded the city all the afternoon. It is evident that the 
ordeal by fire has begun. This adds a fresh menace to the city's 
safety. The fire department is unable to cope with the flames, 
should they spread to the undamaged sections of the city. 

" It was the weakest members of the community that suffered 
the greatest in the dark hours of Saturday night, when the seas 
leaped upon the city. Two-thirds of the corpses that are seen 
are those of women and children. The number of the negro 
dead exceed the white victims. 

"A water famine has added its quota to the perils of the situa- 
tioii. The water works are still disabled. There are few wells 
in the city, and the bulk of the available water supply consists of 
the stores in the reservoirs. This is not sufficient to last more 
than a day or two. Strenuous efforts are being put forth to 
repair the pumps and start the water works." 

ROBBERS DRIVEN FROM THEIR WORK. 

Since Adjutant-General Scurry has assumed police direction 
of Affairs, looting and plundering have ceased. No one has been 
shot, and order prevails throughout the city. The lawless know 
that they will be shot down on the spot when caught depredatino-, 
and this has had a very wholesome effect. The large force of 
men employed in burying and cremating the exposed dead scat- 
tered throughout the city have completed that portion of their 
work and are now engaged in searching for the bodies of unfor-* 
tunates lying crushed and bruised beneath the immense mass of 
debris and wrecked buildings scattered throughout the city. 
Where the debris lies in detached masses it is fired and the bodies 
thev-ein are consumed. 

When adjacent property is endangered by fire the mass of 



tl4 HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 

debris is removed, the bodies taken out, removed to a safe distance 
and around tbem is piled the removed debris, the whole saturated 
with oil and fired. Identification is impossible. The bodies 
being in all stages of putrefaction and giving a horrible stench, 
it is a most sad and gruesome task. Perhaps some of the men 
engaged in this work are unknowingly aiding in destroying all 
that is mortal of some loved one. 

In gathering remains for interment a nephew of Alderman 
John Wagner, a youth i8 years old, was found lodged in the ' 
forks of a tall cedar tree, two miles from his wrecked home, and 
tightly clenched with a death grip in his right hand $200, which 
his father gave him, with two $20 gold pieces, to hold while the 
father attempted to close a blown open door, when the house went 
down and the whole family perished in the raging storm and 
flood . 

THE LOSSES OUTSIDE OF GALVESTON. 

While the loss of life in this city will not fall below 5000 
and may be many more, every little town within a radius of 
seventy-five miles of Galveston was wrecked and people killed 
and wounded, while the damage to property will aggregate over 
$2,000,000. The damage to property in and around Alvin, a 
thriving town of 2000 people, where eleven people were killed 
and quite a number wounded, is estimated at $300,000, and 
they send out an urgent appeal for aid and relief supplies. 

Fifty-four houses were wrecked in Quintana and the debris 
piled up in the streets. Fortunately, no lives were lost. The town 
of Velasco, three miles above, on the east side of the river, was 
completely wrecked and nine killed, three being killed in the hoteh 
which was badly demolished. Angleton, the county seat of Bra- 
zoria, ten miles north of Velasco, was completely destroyed and 
several lives lost and a number badly injured. The property loss 
in these three towns and country adjacent thereto will be be3^ond 
the ability of the people to repair. 

Supplies for the relief of Galveston's sufferers are coming in 
from every quarter as rapidly as the limited means of transporta- 



HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 



116 



tiou here will admit. Its distribution here has not yet gotten on 
a systematic basis, and needs to be radically revised, or it will fail 
of Its purpose and defeat the object of those who are so gener- 
ously contributing. Medical relief is much better organized 

^^^'.^'^ °°t a liouse of any character in the city but what is 
foul and ill-smelling. The water failed to inateriaLe to-day as 
promised and this aggravates the situation. With a complexly 
ippled fire department, fire apparatus all gone, nine hor s 
d owned five engines useless and no water su;ply should a fire 
iieak out, fanned by a stiff breeze, what's femai^ing of the ci y 
would be speedily wiped out. '•ne ci.y 

MILITARY RULE NEEDED. - 

Major Lloyd P. Fayling, who was so prominent in the or. 
ganiza ion of the first relief effort, was asked what solution of the 
present disorganization of the policing powers he would suggest 
The Major dictated the following : "ggest. 

"The situation demands Fe'deral aid. It demanded it from 
a.V 7 I'f K ^^P<="--d United States army oflioer of high 

rank should be put in command here, preferably one who has 
seen years of active service. A regiment of regular soldie 
wouU absolutely control the situation where any number of milTt a 
migh meet with_ difficulties. The disaster is so great ando 

::hindi:itTn:;dS.^"'°"'^' "^ ''- ---^^ ^-^^^ -p-ea 

™-l 7^' ^'V"u^ 1"?P' '° '^"^^ ^*^y '^^ Sre^^ ^^^^ of debris 
piled along the beach front for a distance of several miles was 
begun on the 14th Advertisements were printed in the paplrs 
which appeared this morning, asking for hundreds of men'^and 
.oys to do this work. A multitude responded. They Ze 
iormed into squads and promptly put to work, with polfce and 
deputy sheriffs in charge. It is hoped that a vig;rous prosecution 

debris. That there are many of them there is no shadow of a 
doubt. It IS difficu t, indeed, to imagine how half the people who 
did escape got free from this fearful flotsam and jetsam 



116 HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 

An Associated Press representative traversed tlie beacii for 
some distance, and the stench at different points was absolntely 
sickening. Every where little groups of men, women and children, 
some of them poorly provided with raiment, were digging in the 
ruins of their homes for what little household property they 
could save. In many cases those seeking their former residences 
were utterly unable to find a single remnant of them, so hopeless 
is the confusion of timber and household furniture. 

EXODUS FROM THE CITY. 

The exodus from the city was heavy, and hundreds more 
were eager to go who were unable to secure transportation. Along 
the bay front there were scores of families with dejected faces, 
pleading to be taken from the stricken city, where, in spite of 
every effort to restore confidence, there is a universal feeling of 
depression. 

Shipping men say that the damage to the wharves is by no 
means as serious as at first supposed. The chief damage has 
been in the tearing open of sheds and ripping of planking. The 
sheds, however, can be quickly replaced. The piling for a con- 
siderable distance along the bay front successfully withstood the 
pounding it got from the wind and waves, and business men find 
a measure of consolation in this. 

More hopeful reports were received touching the water sup- 
ply. C. H. McMasters, of the Chamber of Commerce, has charge 
of the water relief work. The company is placing men all along 
the mains, plugging the broken places, and thereby assisting the 
flow. It was serving some of its customers to-day, and hopes 
gradually to increase the service. The water continues to run b}^ 
gravity pressure. The only difficulty the people are having is in 
carrying supplies to their homes or places of business. The ice 
supply continues bountiful, and at many corners lemonade is being 
served at five cents for as many glasses as you can drink at one 
time. 

More effective measures were taken to keep undesirable peo- 
ple, off the island. Soldiers patrolled the water front, and chal- 



HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. lit 

lenged all who could not show a proper reason for their landing, 
or who were unwilling to work for the privilege of coming into 
town. 

Assurances have been received by the railroads that they will 
do all in their power to reopen communication, and their present 
plan seems to be to concentrate all forces on the work of the recon- 
istruction of one bridge. Crews are coming down the Santa Fe 
Railroad from Arkansas and St. Louis with full equipments to 
restore the line. Local representatives of the Southern Pacific 
have had advices from headquarters to proceed with repair work 
without delay. 

Telegraph communication has been partially restored, the 
Western Union and Postal Companies having reached the city 
with one wire. Large forces have been at work along the lines of 
both companies, and connection with Galveston has been attended 
with many difficulties. 

BUSINESS BEING RESUMED. 

A larger number of business houses than on yesteirday 
are open, and advertising their wares at no advance in the 
prices. Carts with disinfectants are going through the streets* 
The gutters are being covered with lime. Carpenters are having 
all the work they can do. The storm tore hundreds of roofs off, 
and the people who are living in topless houses are eager to 
obtain coverings so as to prevent the destruction of what they 
have .^aved if a rain storm comes along. Thus far, however, the 
weather has been clear. 

The relief committees-are steadily broadening the scope of 
their work. They have established bureaus for the issuance of 
orders and rations in every ward, and though there is a multitude 
surrounding every bureau, applicants are rapidly being taken 
care of. There seems no present likelihood of inability on the 
part of the committee to furnish all the rations that are asked for. 
There is of course, a scarcity of fresh beef and of milK bnt 
bread is being provided in abundance, as well as hams, potr.toes, 
rice and other articles. 



118 HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 

One of the most remarkable escapes recorded during the 
flood was reported to-day, when news came that a United States 
Battery man, on dut}^ at the forts last week, had been picked up 
on Morgan's Point wounded, but alive. He had buffeted the 
waves for five days and lived through a terrible experience. 

SURGEON GENERAL WYMAN MAKES A STATEMENT. 

The following statement from Surgeon-General Wyman is 
dated Washington, D. C, Friday, Sept. 14 : 

"In response to the request concerning the situation in Gal- 
veston, I have a report from Passed Assistant Surgeon Werten- 
baker, who was directed to go from his station in New Orleans to 
Galveston, practically confirming the press reports as to the effect 
of the storm and conditions existing. He says : 

" ' City is wrecked. Press reports not exaggerated. Deaths 
estimated at 5,000. Bodies being cremated as fast as found. 
Many bodies under debris not yet removed. Water supply lim- 
ited. Very scarce now, but supplies coming in rapidly. The 
only means of communication is by railroad to Texas City, thence 
by boat, or by boat from Houston.' 

" Dr. Wertenbaker is at Houston, and Surgeon Peckham and 
Acting Assistant Surgeon Lea Hume are giving all the aid possi- 
ble in Galveston. I do not apprehend an outbreak of any epidemic 
of disease as a result of the storm. The law and regulations are 
ample to meet the emergency. 

'* There is danger of sickness caused by unusual exposure 
and deprivation of food and water, but the people of Galveston 
and Governor and other ofiicials of the city and State are thor- 
oughly alive to the necessities of the situation. Their disposal 
of bodies by cremation is certainly a wise measure, and I am con- 
vinced that the native energy of the people, supplemented by the 
tents and rations furnished by the War Department and the cour 
tributions which have been and are flowing in from all parts ot 
the country, will obviate the outbreak of widespread disease. 

"WALTER WYMAN, 
"Supervising Surgeon-General Marine Hospital Service." 



HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 119 

As alread}' stated, tlie first estimates of the number lost 
were much too low, and all the facts show that probably 8000 is 
not too high an estimate. 

Austin, Tex., Sept. 14. — The fund for the relief of the Gal- 
veston sufferers now aggregates nearly $1,000,000 and it will 
probably reach $1,500,000 by to-morrow night. Most of this 
amount is in the hands of Governor Sayres, who will direct the 
work of expending it for food, supplies and other relief measures. 
The Governor will not give out for publication an itemized list of 
the contributions for several days. 

Numerous inquiries from the East have been received as to 
the best way to send subscriptions to the Governor for the Gal- 
veston Relief Fund. The Austin National Bank, of this city, 
which is the United States depository for Texas, has notified the 
Governor that it will make transfers of all contributions for Gal- 
veston free of charge by wire or draft. Remittances may be sent 
direct for transfer to Governor Sayres. 

The House of Representatives has sanctioned a motion to 
send a cablegram to the President of the United States expressing 
the condolence of the Government and people of Peru over the 
catastrophe at Galveston. 

APPEAL TO DRUGGISTS IN HOUSTON. 

To all druggists : The storm stricken district is very much 
in need of the following drugs: Iodoform, chloride of lime, gum 
camphor, assafetida, crude carbolic acid, phenol sodique, gauze 
bandages, quinine and iodoform gauze. Contributions should be 
sent to t he Houston Relief Committee. 

A. E. KESLING, 
Houston Relief Committee. 

"Cnicago's first offering of food and clothing for the Texas 
sufferers left here last night (Thursda}^, the 13th), over the Rock 
Island Road on a special train of six cars that has the right of 
way over all trains as far as Fort Worth, Texas. Other cars 
packed at Rock Island, Davenport, Muscatine, Topeka, Kansas 
City, St. Joseph and Wichita will be picked up on the way, and 



120 HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 

it is expected the train will consist of twenty-three cars wlien it 
reaches its destination. The train is expected to reach Fort 
Worth on Saturday, from where it will be taken to Houston, over 
the Houston and Texas route on a special train schedule." 

The banking house of Munroe & Company, New York, 
received from its Paris branch advices to draw on that bank for 
1^10,000 for the aid of the Galveston sufferers. 

Vice-President and General Manager Trice, of the Inter- 
national and Great Northern Railroad, spent several hours at 
Bryan on the 13th. Mr. Trice has just come from Galveston, 
where he had been in touch with the situation since the great 
storm. He said the railroad losses will aggregate $5,000,000 Or 
$6,000,000. 

" We are now operating trains to Texas City, and carrying 
on traf&c from that point to Galveston by boat," he said. "Better 
shipping facilities will be established at Galveston than ever as 
fast as men and money can place them there. Negotiations are 
now going on to the end that all railroads entering the city join 
forces and materials and establish a temporary bridge across the 
bay, and if the plan succeeds it is hoped that trains can be run 
into Galveston in thirty days. The negotiations going on also 
contemplate the construction of a permanent double track steel 
bridge, to be used by all the railroads entering the city." 

PLANS FOR A NEW BRIDGE. 

W. Boscheke, assistant engineer of the Southern Pacific Rail- 
road at Galveston, has received orders by wire from New York to 
prepare plans at once for a double-track steel bridge across Gal- 
veston Bay, ten feet higher than the old one, and to proceed with 
all the force possible. Engineers are at work making a survey 
and running lines preparatory to the resumption of work. 

J. W. May well, General Superindent, and J. W. Allen, Gen- 
eral Freight agent of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas, have arrived 
here for the purpose of conferring with General Manager Polk, of 
the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe, and Manager Hill, of the Gal- 
vestou, Houston and Henderson Railway, with the object of com- 



HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. • 12] 

^i^xiig their efforts ou the reconstruction of one bridge for all rail- 
ways entering Galveston for the time being, and thus secure an 
early resumption of traffic and the partial restoration of business 
in Galveston. Such a plan, it is believed, will be adopted. 

What Galveston needs now is money and disinfectants. Next 
to these tv/o things, she needs forage. There are now, as near as 
can be estimated, three hundred cars of provisions on the way, and 
it is thought that, wim what is already here, that amount will 
suf&ce for a time at least. No more doctors are needed. Galves- 
ton has begun to emerge from the Valley of the Shadow of Death 
into which she has been plunged for nearly a week, and to-day for 
the first time actual progress was made toward clearing up the 
city. 

The bodies of those killed in the storm have for the most 
part been disposed of A large number may be found when the 
debris is removed from some of the buildings, but at present there 
are none to be seen, save those occasionally cast up by the sea. 
As far as sight, at least, is concerned, the city is cleared of its 
dead. 

A CONFLICT OF AUTHORITY. 

A conflict of authority due to a misunderstanding precipi- 
tated a temporary disorganization of the policing of the city yes- 
terday. It seemed that when General Scurry, Adjutant-General 
of the Texas Volunteer Guard, arrived in the city with about 200 
militia from Houston, he conferred with the Chief of Police as to 
the plans for preserving law and order. An order was issued by 
the Chief of Police to the effect that the soldiers should arrest 
all persons carrying arms unless they showed a written order, 
signed by the Chief of Police or Mayor, giving them permission 
to go armed. 

The result was that about fifty citizens wearing Deputy 
Sheriff badges were arrested by the soldiers and taken to police 
headquarters. The soldiers had no way of knowing by what 
authority the men were acting with these badges, and would listen 
to no excuses. After a hurried conference batween General 
Scurry and Sheriff Thomas, it was decided that all Deputy 



122 HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 

SHeriffs and special officers shall be permitted to carry aims and 
pass in and out of the guard lines. The Deputy Sheriffs and 
special and regular police now police the city during the day time 
and the militia take charge of the city at night. 

At a meeting of the General Committee last night, a com- 
mittee of representative citizens of Galveston was appointed to go^ 
to Austin at once to confer with Governor Sayres in regard to the 
situation here. 

The need of sprinkling the streets with a strong bi-chloride 
solution and taking other sanitary precautions was discussed, and 
after adjournment of the General Committee the Committee on 
Correspondence sent the following telegram : 

" Galveston, Texas, Sept. 13. — To the Associated Press : Our 
most urgent present needs now are disinfectants — lime, cement, 
gasoline stoves, gasoline, charcoal furnaces and charcoal. Nearby 
towns also may send bread. For the remainder of our wants 
money will be most available, because we can make purchases 
from time to time with more discretion than miscellaneous con- 
tributors would exercise. We are bringing order ou<- of chaos, 
and again offer our profound gratitude for the assistance so far 

received." 

A CAMP AT HOUSTON. 

At a conference held at the office of City Health Officer Wil- 
kinson, it was decided to accept the offer of the United States 
Marine Hospital Service, and establish a camp at Houston, where 
the destitute and sick can be sent and be properly cared for. The 
physicians agreed that there were many indigent sick in the city 
who could be removed from Galveston, and Houston was selected, 
because that city had very thoughtfully suggested the idea and 
tendered a site for the camp. 

Acting upon the suggestion to establish a camp and care for 
the sick and needy, a message was sent to the Surgeon-General, 
at the head of the Marine Hospital Corps, asking for 1000 tents 
of four berth capacity each, also several hundred barrels of disin- 
fecting fluid. 

Congqressman R. B. Hawley, who was in Washington at the 



HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 125 

time of the storm, lias arrived in the city. "Work of a vast im- 
portance is to be undertaken here," said he. " Work on different 
lines from that which has been our habit heretofore. There are 
storms elsewhere. If the people in other parts of the country built 
as we build, their cities would be down and out nearly every year. 
But they build structures to staj^, and we must rebuild our city on'' 
different lines and in a different manner that will resist the gales 
as they do. The port is all right. The fullest depth of water 
remains. The jetties with slight repair, are intact, and because 
of these conditions the restoration will be more rapid than may be 
thought." 

OFFICIAL REPORTS TO THE WAR DEPARTMENT. 

Washington, Sept. 14. — The War Department has received 
several telegrams relating to the conditions at Galveston. The 
following is from Governor Sayres : 

"Austin, Tex., Sept. 13. — Will wire you if any further aid be 
necessar}^ Please express to the Department my most grateful 
acknowledgment for its prompt and generous assistance. 

"JOSEPH D. SAYRES, 

"Governor." 

General McKibbin, September 12th, reports generally upon 
the condition at Galveston as follows : 

" General conditions are improving every hour. Repairs to 
water works will by to-morrow insure water supply for fire pro- 
tection. Provisions of all kinds are being received in large 
quantities ; enough are now en route and at Houston to feed all 
destitute for thirty days. There is no danger of suffering from 
lack of food or shelter. City under perfect control, under charge of 
Committee of Safety. Loss of life is probably greater than my 
conservative estate of yesterda}^ Property loss enormous ; not^ 
an individual in the city has escaped some loss ; in thousands of 
instances total loss. 

"To-day, in company with Colonel Roberts and Captain 
Riche, made an inspection at Fort Crockett, and by tug of the 
fortifications at Forts San Jacinto and Travis, with the exception 



124 HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 

of battery for two four seven-teuths rapid fire guns batteries may 
be considered non-existent. Captain Ridie lias forwarded by wire 
this evening full report of conditions to chief engineer. I coin- 
cide in recommendation that all fortifications and ordnance prop- 
erty be transferred to engineer officer here for salvage. Earnestly 
recommend that Battery O, First Artillerj^, be ordered to Fort 
Sam Houston for recuperation and equipment ; officers and men 
are entirely destitute. At present a large number are injured 
and unfit for duty. Impossible at present to furnish them with 
ordinary camp equipage, clothing, as all transportation facilities 
are being utilized to bring in food supplies. 

"McKIBBIN, Commanding." 
In a previous report General McKibbin praises the conduct 
of the regulars. Acting upon the recommendation of General 
McKibbin, Adjutant General Corbin to-day ordered Battery O, 
First Artillery, from Galveston to Fort Sam Houston. 

CAPTAIN RICHE'S REPORT. 

General John M. Wilson, Chief of Engineers, received the 
following comprehensive report from Captain Riche as to the con- 
dition of Government property at Galveston : 

"Jetties sunk nearly to mean low tide level, but not seriously 
breached. Channel at least as good as before, perhaps better. 
Twenty-five feet certainly. Forts as follows : Fort Crocket — Two 
fifteen-pounder emplacement, concrete all right, standing on piling, 
water underneath. Battery for eight mortars about like preceding, 
mortars and carriages on hand unmounted. Battery for two ten- 
inch guns about like preceding, both guns mounted and in good 
shape. Shore line at Fort Crocket has moved back about 600 feet. 
Fort San Jacinto — Battery for eight twelve-inch mortars badly 
wrecked, magazines reported fallen in ; mortars reported safe. No 
piling was under this battery ; some of the sand parapet left. 
Battery for two ten-inch guns badly wrecked. Central portion 
level, both gun platforms down, guns leaning ; no piling was 
under this battery. 

" Battery for two four seven-tenths rapid-fire guns, concrete 



HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 125 

standing upon piling ; botli guns apparently all right. Battery 
for two fifteen-pounder guns, concrete apparently all right, stand- 
ing on piling. Fort San Jacinto battery could not be reached by 
land ; inspection was from a distance. Sand around these bat- 
teries seemed pretty well leveled off to about two to three feet 
above mean low. Torpedo casements, nothing but concrete left 
and badly wrecked. Concrete portion of cable tank left ; cable in 
it probably safe. Part of coal wharf still standing. Everything 
else in vicinity gone. Some of the mine cases are down the beach 
as far as Fort Crockett. 

BATTERIES UNDERMINED. 

''Fort Travis — Battery for three fifteen-pounder guns, con- 
crete intact, standing on piling. Water underneath. Battery for 
two eight-inch guns, concrete intact, except eastern emplacement, 
which has cracked off ; eastern gun down and twenty feet from 
battery ; western one all right ; concrete standing on piling ; water 
underneath middle of battery. These batteries were inspected from 
the channel. Shore line has moved back about i,ooo feet, about 
on the line of the rear of these batteries. All buildings and 
other structures gone. Inspection was made with General Mc- 
Kibben. 

" Recommendation is made that all fortifications and property 
be transferred to the Engineer Department. That for the present 
batteries be considered non-existent so that future work may be 
chargeable as original construction. Much ordnance can be 
saved if given prompt attention. Unless otherwise instructed, I 
will take charge of these works at once and save all possible. 
New projects for jetties and forts cannot be submitted for several 
weeks until definite detailed information is had. Further 
recommendations will then be submitted as soon as possible. Gal- 
veston is still a deep water port, and such a storm is not likel}^ to 
reoccur for years. " RICHE, Engineer." 

Notwithstanding the fact that the number of boats carrying 
passengers between Texas City and Galveston has been largely 
increased, it was impossible ^n Thursday, the 13th, to leave the 



I'^^ HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 

city after the early morning hours, and hundreds of men, women 
and children, all anxious to depart, suffered great inconvenience 
and hardship, and were, after all, compelled to sleep upon the 
beach at Texas City, waiting for the morning. There is but one 
steamboat plying across Galveston Bay, which is able to carry 
passengers in any number, and even this boat is able to make the 
trip only with extreme caution, on account of the shallowness of 
the bay. 

Yesterday morning somebody lacked something of being 
cautious in the extreme, and the " Lawrence," after jamming her 
nose into the mud, remained aground all day. Her passengers 
were taken off in small boats. This compelled all those who were 
unable to come on the first trip of the " Lawrence " to trust them- 
selves to sailboats, and by noon a dozen of them, heavily loaded, 
started from Galveston to Texas City, where the fleet was scat- 
tered over Galveston Bay by a distance of anywhere between one 
mile and three miles. The wind died away utterly. 

URGED TO HURRY A TRAIN. 

The boats could neither go on to Texas City nor return to 
Galveston. None of them had more than a meagre supply of 
water and no food, as the trip ordinarily does not require above 
an hour. Great suffering resulted. All afternoon they were 
becalmed, and, a slight breeze arising in the evening, at 9 o'clock 
at night the sailing craft which had left Galveston at noon began 
to dump their passengers upon the beach at Texas City. This 
place is now among the things that once were. There are no 
houses, no tents, no accommodations of any kind save a few pas- 
senger coaches standing upon the railroad track. These were 
speedily filled, and the rest of the women and children, all hungry 
and the latter crying for food, were compelled to remain on the 
beach. 

An urgent message was sent to the railway people at Hous- 
ton, saying that women and children were suffering, and asking 
them to hurry a train to Texas City for the purpose of conveying 
the refugees to Houston. No reply was received, and when a 



HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. 127 

train, whose crew knew notliiug of the existing conditions at 
Texas Cit}^, finally appeared, tlie annonucenient was made that it 
wonld not go before morning. The crowd at Texas City was 
more than enongh to fill the train to the limit, bnt, notwithstand- 
ing, determined to allow the "Lawrence" to attempt once more the 
perils of the mnd and await another consignment of refugees. 

It was fully twenty hours after their start from Galveston 
that the people who left there yesterday noon were able to move 
out from Texas City, which is only eight miles away, and by the 
time the train had made a start for Houston, every woman in the 
crowd was ill through lack of food, exposure and insufficient 

sleep. 

NO RED TAPE TO STAND IN THE WAY. 

Washington, Sept. 14 — General Spaulding, Acting Secretary 
of the Treasury, took further measures to-day for the relief of the 
distressed citizens of Galveston by arranging for their transporta- 
tion by foreign vessels to New Orleans or other gulf ports. The 
law provides that American vessels only can carry passengers be- 
tween American ports, but during the present conditions the 
Treasury Department will remit the penalties to which foreign 
vessels would be liable, for the relief of Galveston. 

The Rev, J. F. McCarthy, of Newark, N. J., assistant pastor 
of St. Patrick's Cathedral, to-day received a special despatch from 
Galveston to the effect that all of the twenty-four Newark nuns at 
the Catholic Convent of the Sacred Heart at that place had been 
saved from the general destruction of life and property by the 
terrible cyclone of Saturday. Father McCarthy at once despatched 
a special message to the homes of the nuns' relatives with this 
information. They were reported lost in an account contained in 
in a preceding chapter of this volume. 

A prominent newspaper called attention to the necessities of 
the situation as follows : 

" As later news is received from Texas the full extent of the 
destruction of life and property is revealed. No such visitation 
of nature's force has ever before descended upon a community in 
this countr}^ There is no longer any doubt that the death list 



1-2S HARROWING DETAILS OF iHE DISASTER. 

will run into the thousands. It will probably never be known 
accurately how many perished in the track of last Sunday's storm. 
Many bodies have been washed out to sea, and of the hundreds of 
corpses that lay exposed in the streets and buried under fallen 
buildings only a fraction will be identified. 

" For the sanitary protection of the living it has been found 
necessary to deny the dead an ordinary burial. A great city full 
of prosperous people has been suddenly left without food, water, 
clothing and all the daily necessaries of life. Worst of all, the 
survivors are absolutely without means of recuperation from the 
awful disaster that has overtaken them. They are totally depend- 
ent upon the outside world for assistance. 

RELIEF FOR TEXAS SUFFERERS. 

"In the first steps of relief for those who have been stricken 
our northern cities made a generous response to the call for aid. 
The hearts of our citizens have been profoundly stirred, and they 
have given out of hand without questioning or hesitancy. Every- 
thing that would contribute to the care of the suffering and the 
succor of the needy has been offered without stint. All alike have 
come forward with their donations, rich and poor, according to 
their means. 

" From Philadelphia was dispatched a train of four cars 
loaded with a quarter of million pounds of supplies furnished by 
the people of that city for the relief of the distressed at Galveston 
and along the Gulf coast. With the train went eight volunteer 
nurses to care for the sick and inj ured. They will arrive on the 
ground none too soon, for the local resources of Texas are being 
greatly overtaxed. 

"The supplies have been selected with judgment, so that 
they will not sufi'er in transit and in distribution, and only non- 
perishable goods have been chosen, for it will be weeks before the 
stricken district will have strength to provide for itself But 
there will be time enough for future measures. It is the first aid 
that counts. Our people have been doubly generous, because 
they have not stood upon the order of their giving." 



CHAPTER VII. 

Not a House in Galveston Escaped Damage — Young and 
Old, Rich and Poor, Hurried to a Watery Grave — Citizen: 
with Guns Guarding the Living and the Dead. 

THE all-absorbing story of the great flood is continued in the 
following pages, with new and thrilling incidents. Best 
informed residents of Galveston who have been over all por- 
tions of the city estimate that from 1200 to 1300 acres were swept 
clear of habitation. It can be said that not one Galveston home 
escaped without some damage. 

Galveston's great open-air show-place was the Garten Verein. 
There were various structures devoted to recreation which stood on 
about seven acres of ground that had been brought to a degree of 
perfection in gardening hardly credible when the foundation of 
sand was remembered. H.mdreds of oleander trees and flower- 
beds adorned the park. I'he Garten Verein was wiped out of 
existence. Among the debri s have been found many bodies. 

SLOWLY RECOVERING FROM THE STUNNING BLOW. 

Galveston is now begin fling slowly to recover from the stun- 
ning blow of last week, and ihough the city appears to-night to be 
pitilessly desolated, the authorities and the commercial and indus- 
trial interests are setting their forces to work and a start has at 
least been made toward the resumption of business on a moderate 
scale. Plans for rebuilding the city are also discussed. The pres- 
ence of the troops has had ? Ix^neficial effect upon the criminal 
classes, and the apprehensi n b>;" a brief but desperate reign of 
unarchy no longer exists. 

The liquor saloons have at least temporarily gone out of busi- 
ness, and every strong-limbed man who has not his own humble 
abode to look after is being pressed into service, so that, first of all, 
the water-service may be resumed, the gutters flushed and the 
streets lighted. 

9 129 



130 HURRIED TO A vVaTERY GRAVE. 

The further the ruins are explored the greater becomes the 
increase in the list of those who perished as their houses fell about 
their heads. On the lower beach a searching party found a score 
of corpses within a small area, going to show that the bulwark of 
debris that lies straight across the island conceals many more 
bodies than have been accounted for. 

Volunteer gangs continue their work of hurried burial of thd 
corpses they find on the shores of Galveston Island at the many 
neighboring points where fatalities attended the storm. It will 
probably be many days yet, however, before all the floating booties 
have found nameless graves. 

MANGLED CORPSES WASHED ASHORE. 

Along the beach they are constantly being washed up. 
Whether these are those who were swept out into the Gulf and 
drowned or are simply the return of some of those cast into the sea 
to guard against terrible pestilence, there is no means of knowing. 
In any event, the correspondent, in a trip across the bay yesterday, 
counted seven bodies tossing in the waves with a score of horses 
and cattle. 

The city still presents the appearance of widespread wreck and 
ruin. Little has been done to clear the streets of the terrible tangle 
of wires and the masses of wreck, mortar, slate, stone and glass that 
bestrew them. Many of the sidewalks are impassable. Some of 
them are littered with debris. Others are so thickly covered with 
slime that walking on them is out of the question. 

As a general rule, substantial frame buildings withstood better 
the blasts of the gale than those of brick. In other instances, 
however, small wooden structures, cisterns and whole sides of 
houses are lying in streets or backyards squares away from where 
they originally stood. 

Here and there business men have already put men to work 
to repair the damage done, but in the main the commercial inter- 
ests seem to be uncertain about following the lead of those who 
apparently show faith in the rapid rehabilitation of the island city. 
The appearance of the newspapers to-day, after a suspension of 



HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 131 

several days, is having a good effect, and both the News and Tri- 
bune are urging prompt succoring of the suffering and then equal 
promptness in reconstruction. 

It is difficult to say yet what the ultimate effect of the dis- 
aster is to be on the city. Many people have left and some may 
never return. The experience of others still here was so frightful 
that not all will remain if they can conveniently find occupation in 
other cities. 

WONDERFUL COURAGE AND HOPE. 

The bulk of the population, however, is only temporarily panic 
stricken, and there are hosts of those who helped to make Galveston 
great who look upon the catastrophe as involving only a tempo- 
rary halt in the advancement of the city. 

The decision of the transportation lines will do more than 
anything else to restore confidence. Big ships, new arrivals, rode 
at anchor to-day in front of the city. They had just reached the 
port and found the docks and pier damage so widespread that no 
accommodations could be given to them. 

The losses to the charitable institutions of the city were very 
heavy. Sealy Hospital, the gift of the late John Sealy, was one 
of the largest institutions of Texas. Very serious damage was 
sustained. Almost the first work of restoration begun on any pub- 
lic structure was at the Sealy Hospital. 

The medical department of the University of Texas included 
what is known as Brackenridge Hall. This hall was the gift of 
George W. Brackenridge, of San Antonio. It was seriously dam- 
aged. The Old Women's Hospital is a complete ruin. St. Mary's 
Infirmary, on Tenth and Market Streets, was entirely destroyed. 
The Ursuline Convent and the Ursuline Academy were partiallj'' 
demolished. The convent is now a haven of refuge of 500 house- 
less people. 

The Catholic Orphans' Asylum disappeared, leaving but 
slight traces in the form of ruins. It was supposed that the 
inmates, some ninety-nine sisters and little children, had been 
swept out into the gulf when the waters receded. Within the past 



132 HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 

few days bodies of several of tbe victims at tlie asylum liave been 
found. 

R appeared that when the sisters found the waters rising all 
around the asylum their only thoughts were for their little charges. 
They tied the children in bunches and then each sister fastened 
to herself one of these groups of orphans, determined to save them 
or die with them. Two of these groups have been found under 
wreckage. In each case eight children had been fastened together 
and then tied to a sister. 

Galveston's school buildings, public and private, were unsur- 
passed for solidity and architectural finish. An examination of the ' 
public school buildings shows that scarcely one is fit for use. 

Houses of worship suffered severely, although most of them 
were quite substantial. St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Baptist 
Church, Trinity Episcopal, the Fourth Presbyterian, St. Mary's 
Cathedral, St. John's Methodist, the Seamen's Bethel and two 
other churches on Broad Street, between Twenty-first and Tre- 
niont, sustained either total destruction or such damages that they 
must be rebuilt. Grace Episcopal Church, in the west end, which 
was one of the many benefactions of the late Henry Rosenberg, 
escaped with slight injury. 

BUSINESS HOUSES SUFFER GREAT LOSS. 

One of the most notable buildings of the city was that of the 
Improvement Loan and Trust Company, at Post Ofiice and Tre- 
mont street. The damage sustained was not serious. The E. S. 
Levy of&ce building, on Market and Tremont streets, cost $135,000. 
It contained 150 of&ces, and was considered a marvel of the town. 
This building withstood the storm and the occupants escaped by 
staying in their of&ces. 

The Marx and Blum Buildings, Twenty-fourth and MechanidJ 
streets, was one of the large commercial structures. It was occu- 
pied in part by the Galveston Hat and Shoe Co. The damages to 
the building and the stocks are placed now at $75,000. The 
Clarke and Courts Building sustained a loss to building and stock 
of $40,000. The Galveston Cotton and Woolen Mills suffered to 



HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 1,53 

tlie amount of $75,000. The Galveston City Railroad power- 
honse was. demolished, and it is estimated that $100,000 will be 
required to restore the plant. 

The business structures did not suffer the total destruction 
that occurred in so much of tlie residence section, but many are 
so badly damaged that they wall have to be torn down. 

LARGEST ELEVATOR BADLY DAMAGED. 

Galveston had a gigantic elevator interest which had deveh^ped 
with the port's growing grain trade. Elevator " A " at Fourteenth 
street, on the Bay side, was one of the largest in the world. Its 
capacity was in excess of 1,500,000 bushels of wheat. All the 
upper works of the elevator are gone. 

One of the remarkable things about the force of the storm 
was that it tore from their moorings several large steamships and 
carried them in diverse directions. For example, the Kendall 
Castle an English ship, was swept from Pier 33 across Pelican 
Island and landed on the shore at Texas City. That Avas a course 
almost due north. Possibly a dredge ma}' be able to cut a channel 
which will let the Kendall Castle out of the shoal part of the Bay, 
where it lies high in the water. 

The Norwegian Gyller, a steamer of considerable tonnage, 
now lies stranded between Virginia Point and Texas City. Its 
course varied considerably from that of the Kendall Castle. A 
channel would have to be cut so far to float out the Gyller that 
there is doubt whether it would be warranted by the amount at 
stake. 

^, One of the most serious results of the storm has been the 
■ damage to the electric light and street car plants. The city has 
^been in absolute darkness for several nights, and only a few con- 
cerns who operate their own illuminating services are enabled to 
do business. Nearly every residence has gone back to the primi- 
tive candle. The absence of street lights drives all who have no 
imperative business on the streets to their homes at nightfall, but 
the work of the patrol system is made more difficult thereby and 
the opportunity for looting greater. 



1.34 HURRIED TO A WATP:RY CRAVE. 

The motormen deserted tlieir cars when the fury of the wind 
and the rush of the water made it no longer possible to operate 
them. Attempts are being made now to get the cars in shape 
again. The great destruction of live stock has climated the car- 
riages and cabs as a means of transportation. 

The work of relief continues energetically. Mayor Jones and 
his associates are bending every nerve to open a direct line of trans- 
portation with Houston by which he may be enabled promptly to 
receive the great quantity of provisions which are now on the way 
to the city. The Relief Committee is striving to systematize its work. 
On Tuesday an ordinance was passed authorizing rescuing and 
burying parties to set fire to wrecked buildings and burn them. In 
these funeral pyres hundreds of corpses were cremated. 

CARING FOR HOMELESS REFUGEES. 

Houston now is the haven of the unfortunate people of Gal- 
veston. Trains have already brought in between 500 and 1000 of 
the survivors, and a motley crowd they are. Men bareheaded, 
barefooted, hatless and coatless, with swollen feet and bruised and 
blackened bodies and heads were numerous. Women of wealth 
and refinement, frequently hatless, shoeless, with gowns in shreds, 
were among the refugees. Nearly all of those who came in have 
suffered the loss of one or more of their family. It is remarkable, 
however, there is no whimpering, no complaining. 

The refugees are being housed and fed, and those in need of 
medical attention are placed in the hospitals. General-Manager 
Van Vleck, of the Southern Pacific, says the damage to the wharves 
is fully eighty per cent. The Southern Pacific, he says, expects to 
begin work on the bridge within two days. It is expected that 
trains will be run into Galveston within forty days. 

John J. Moody, a member of the committee sent from Houston^ 
to take charge of the relief station at Texas City, reports as follows ; ' 

" On arriving at La Marque this morning I was informed that 
the largest number of bodies were along the coast of Texas City. 
Fifty-six were buried yesterday and to-day within less than two 
miles extending opposite this place and towards Virginia City. It 



HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 135 

is yet six miles further to Virginia City and the bodies are thicker 
where we are now than where they have been buried. A citizen in- 
specting in the opposite direction reports dead bodies thick for 
twenty miles. 

" The residents of this place have lost all, not a habitable build- 
ing being left, and they have been too busy disposing ©f the dead 
to look after personal affairs. Those who have anything left arei 
giving it to others, and yet there is real suffering. I have given ' 
away nearly all the bread I brought for our own use to hungry 
children. 

" Every ten feet along the wreck-lined coast tells of acts of 
vandalism. Not a trunk, valise or tool chest has escaped rifling, 
We buried a woman this afternoon whose fingers bore the mark of 
a recently removed ring." 

WASHED ACROSS THE BAY FROM GALVESTON. 

B. F. Cameron, a lumber dealer of Stowell, Chambers County, 
says that the relief party which went from Stowell to Bolivar, re- 
ported to him that there was over looo dead bodies on the beach at 
Bolivar, Yeast Ba}^, and in sight of the salt marshes which line the 
ba}'. The party succeeded in burying only forty of the corpses. 
The others are l3^ing in the water and on land, decomposing in the 
heat. Man}'- of these bodies were evidently swept across the bay 
from Galveston. 

In view of the completeness with which Galveston has been 
destroyed by the storm, many believe the city will never be rebuilt. 
The argument is that from its very location the city is ever in 
danger of a similar visitation, and capital will be fearful of invest- 
ment where the danger is so constant. 

There are many, however, who take the opposite view and say 
that in no other place on the Gulf can there be found a location so 
advantageous, and therefore, no matter if the risk be great, capital 
will seek investment in Galveston, and the city will soon resume 
her importance as a shipping port. 

This sentiment is reflected in telegrams and verbal utterances, 
some of which are here printed : 



136 HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 

Dallas, Texas, Wednesday. — Much serious thought has been 
given to the question of the future of Galveston by the best 
informed men of Dallas since the calamity of last Saturday and 
Sunday. The outlook, to their minds, is not a bright one. The 
expression of judgment most frequently heard is "Galveston is 
doomed." Men reason that to the perils the population have ever 
to face from nature's elements the timidity of capital must now be 
added. 

In the great storm of 1875 little of private or public capital 
ran the risk of destruction. The great wharves, elevators, com- 
presses and railway and steamship systems had taken but slight 
foothold in the island city. The federal government had built 
jetties and general harbor improvements and coast defences, at a 
cost of more than $10,000,000 of public money. All these millions 
of public and private wealth have been put into Galveston enter- 
prises since 1875. 

CAPITAL WILL BE SHY HEREAFTER. 

Capitalists will scarcely venture again in the near future to 
invest their money in a place where it is likely to be wiped out at 
a ratio of from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 to one equinoctial storm. 
And when the Federal Government contemplates costly brand new 
coast defence fortifications, such as Fort Sam Houston, shattered 
by wind and waves, and ninety per cent, of the garrison killed, it 
will not consider the place where these ventures were made a safe 
one for their duplication. A harbor to be safe must be land 
locked. 

These are the views of thinking men who have studied the 
situation. The question then arises, What will supersede Galves- 
ton ? Some predict that Houston, fifty miles in the interior, on 
Buffalo Bayou, through the agency of a ship canal built at the 
expense of the federal government, is the coming metropolis of 
^the Gulf. 

Others say Texas City, ten miles from Galveston, will now be 
developed as a grand maritime successor to the unfortunate island 
city. Others say Clinton, on Buffalo Bayou, six miles belovr 



HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 137 

Houston, because of its facilities to furnish water and rail termi- 
nals, will be the Texas seaport of the near future. 

Very few expect unfortunate Galveston to rise agaiu and 
reassert herself the mistress of the Gulf A Galveston man illus- 
trated the problem very aptly to-night, when he said: 

" Fully one-half of the population of Galveston will never go 
back there to live if they be got off the island alive this time. My 
opinion is that Galveston has had her rise and fall." 

AUSTIN PREDICTS NO DESERTION OF THE CITY. 

Austin, Texas, Wednesday. — In the first shadow of the awful 
calamity which has befallen Galveston the thought of many is that 
Galveston City will have to be removed to the mainland or de- 
serted. Nevertheless, calmer opinion is that the city will not be 
moved. There are too many interests concerned, too much money 
invested and too many possibilities to think of moting the city. 

Property losses, while great, are not beyond repair. The city 
may not for many years regain the popularity it enjoyed up to last 
week, but it is believed that with the passage of time and the 
allaying of public fear the place will begin to revive. 

Millions are invested there in harbor improvements that would 
be useless were the island deserted. Millions more invested in 
business weathered the storm, save as to windows and roofs, and 
these can be easily repaired. 

Wharfing interests representing millions will cost mon'^y to 
get back into shape again, but the belief is general that it will be 
done. The business interests of Texas demand a port such as 
Galveston, and while the town may not regain within five or six 
years the resident population it had, it is not probable that it will 
be depopulated. 

When the storm of 1875 swept the island it did considerable 
damage, and it took several years for the public to shake off the 
fear of a residence there. They did so, however, and went back, 
and it is believed that they will do so again. 

Prominent citizens of Galveston to a man say that no thought 
pf moving the city to the mainland or a more protected spot cau 



138 HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 

be entertained, as there are too many interests in Galveston that 
cannot be transplanted, and that have not been so badly affected by 
the storm as to render them useless. 

Railroads are already reconstructing bridges across the bay, 
and trade will be moving through the port within a fortnight. 

To protect the city of Galveston from the ravages of x^uture 
cyclones would be almost as costly as to re-establish the city on a 
new site. 

This is the opinion of eminent engineers in Washington. To 
insure the maintenance of the channel it has been necessary to 
erect jetties whkh have cost more than $6,000,000. These jetties, 
however, do not furnish an obstacle of any importance to the inva- 
sion of the sea when behind it is a force such as a West India 
cyclone exert«>. 

Because of the effect of storms upon the Gulf coast, it has 
been customary for engineer officers stationed at Galveston to report 
yearly upon the appearance of atmospheric disturbances of more 
than vi.3ual intensity, and Captain Rich, the engineer officer who is 
believed to have lost his life, said in his report for 1899 that storms 
which occurred during April, May and June, 1899, " carried away 
nearly all that remained of construction trestle and track and 
caused more or less settlement of the jetties." 

GREAT NEED OF A SAFE HARBOR. 

The need of a safe deep-water harbor on the Gulf of Mexico 
has long been appreciated, and in 1899 Congress passed an act di- 
recting the Secretary of War to appoint a Board of three engineer 
ofiicers of the army to make a careful and critical examination of 
the American coast of the Gulf of Mexico west of 93 degrees and 
30 minutes west longitude, and to " report as to the most eligible 
points for a deep harbor, to be of ample depth, width and capacity 
to accommodate the largest ocean-going vessels and the commercial 
and naval necessities of the country." 

The Board consisted of Lieutenant-Colonels H. M. Robert, ^ 
G. L. Gillespie and Jared A. Smith. It is reported that Galveston 
was the most eligible point for a deep harbor, but also called atten- 



HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 139 

tlon to tlie liarbors at Sabine Pass and Aransas Pass as being 
wortliy of consideration. 

In New York the views of railroad men concerning the future 
of Galveston as a shipping point are far from gloomy-. A. F. 
Walker, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Atchison, 
Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, says he expects the city to be re-/ 
built within three months. 

"Of course," said Mr. Walker, *4t is a serious blow to Galves- 
ton, and with the city covered with mud and wreckage it is easy to 
prophesy evil for its future, but two weeks will suffice to clear the 
wreckage and clean the streets, get the dead buried and make a 
careful estimate of the actual loss. This loss is tremendous, there 
can be no doubt, but it has very likely been grossly exaggerated. 

" Galveston will rebuild, and quickly, because the site com- 
bines the greatest natural advantages as a Gulf port and has solid 
commercial backing. It is imperative that we have a port on the 
Gulf — the extent of shipping demands it. Galveston offers, in spite 
of the real handicap of her low position, the best site, and I see no 
reason why it should not be rapidly rebuilt." 

BELIEVES CITY WILL BE REBUILT. 

Vice-President Tweed, of the Southern Pacific Railroad, said 
this morning that he felt sure that his road would repair the dam- 
age done to its properties at Galveston, and go on with further im- 
provements planned. 

" I take it for granted," Mr. Tweed declared, " that the direc- 
tors of the Southern Pacific will keep up the work they started 
there. I do not think that this disaster, though certainly serious, 
will kill Galveston as a shipping port. No definite reports have 
been received as to the extent of our losses there. The two piers 
already completed on the property of the Southern Pacific were 
certainly badly damaged. Any estimate of the amount of damage 
would be only a guess, but I should say that it would fall below 
$400,000. Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars had been spent 
on the piers, and $75,000 paid for a short line from Galveston to 
Houston, which was destroyed." 



140 HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 

Concerning tlie suggestion that Galveston will not be rebuilt, 
but that another city will be established in a safer place on the Gulf, 
to serve as a shipping port, Mr. Henry Mallory, of the Mallory line 
of steamships, said : 

" Texas naturally seeks an outlet through a Texan harbor, and 
there is none other in Texas equal to the harbor of Galveston. All 
railroads centre there. If the city were wiped out some man with 
money would begin to build there. Locally, Galveston has suffered 
great loss, against which there is no insurance. But that does not 
rob the city of its pre-eminent valve as a port." 

Asked if it would be practicable to rebuild the city on an inner 
shore of Galveston Bay, Mr. Mallory said that it would not. 
" There is no better location," said he, " for the city. It is not our 
purpose to abandon Galveston. We have ten steamships — nine in 
commission and one building — and we expect to remain in the 
Texas service." 

A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. 

A correspondent, under date of September the 14th, wrote: 

" So far as the actual presence of death is concerned, nobody 
would know, from a glance at the streets to-day, that a terrible 
tragedy had been enacted here. Human corpses are out of sight. 
They have either been buried, taken out to sea or burned. 

" But the horrors have not been obliterated by any means. 
The danger of pestilence still remains. While the human corpses 
have been disposed of, those of animals — horses, cows, dogs, etc.— 
have been permitted to remain above ground. There was no tim^ 
and no means to remove them. Their putrifying remains lay 
where the waves left them — there to emit a stench that is simply 
unbearable. 

*' Lime with which to consume these carcasses is all that will 
save Galveston from epidemic. 

" With corrupt flesh and bad water, or no water at all, Galves- 
ton is already in the grasp of t3^phoid and other virulent fevers. 
The diseases have not yet become epidemic, but if unchecked foi 
twenty-four hours there is no doubt they will become so. 



HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVK. 141 

" Appreciating the situation, Adjutant-Geueral Scurry yester- 
day succeeded in getting gangs of laboring men organized. The 
progress made is remarkable and to-day it was much greater. 
Large piles of refuse were gathered and burned, and the work of 
cleaning up proceeded in a systematic manner. Heretofore there 
has been no system, everybody working for the public good in his 
own way. 

PEOPLE HURRYING TO ESCAPE. 

" The exodus from the city was heavy to-day, and hundreds 
more were eager to go who were unable to secure transportation. 
Along the bay front there were scores of families with dejected 
faces, pleading to be taken from the stricken city, where, in spite 
of every effort to restore confidence, there is a universal feeling of 
depression. 

" Shipping men say to-day that the damage to the wharves is 
by no means as serious as at first supposed. More hopeful reports 
were received to-day touching the water supply. The company is 
placing men all along the mains, plugging the broken places and 
thereby assisting the flow. It was serving some of its customers 
to-day, and hopes gradually to increase the service. The water 
continues to run by gravity pressure. 

" The only dif&culty the people are having is in carrying 
supplies to their homes or places of business. The ice supply 
continues bountiful, and at many corners lemonade is being served 
at five cents for as many glasses as you can drink at one time. 

" The work of disposing of the dead continues. Several hun- 
dred bodies are still buried beneath the wreckage. Thirty-two sand 
mounds, marked with small boards, attract attention on the beach, 
near Twenty-sixth street, and tell the story of where seventy-five 
bodies have been laid to rest. In the extreme western part of the 
city sixty bodies were cremated with wreckage of the homes of tlie 
unfortunate victims. 

" A conflict of authority, due to a misunderstanding, precipi- 
tated a temporar}'- disorganization of the policing of the city yes- 
terday. It seems that when General Scurry, Adjutant-General of 



142 HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 

the Texas Volunteer Guard, arrived in the city with about 200 
militia from Houston, he conferred with the chief of police as to the 
plans for preserving law and order. 

"An order was issued by the chief of police to the effect that 
the soldiers should arrest all persons found carrying arms unless 
they showed a written order, signed by the chief of police or Mayor, 
giving them permission to go armed. The result was that about 
fifty citizens wearing deputy sheriff badges were arrested by the 
foldiers and taken to police headquarters. 

FREE USE OF DEADLY WEAPONS. 

" The soldiers had no way of knowing by what authority the 
men were acting with these badges, and would listen to no excuses. 
After a hurried conference between General Scurry and Sheriff 
Thomas it was decided that all deputy sheriffs and special officers 
shall be permitted to carry arms and pass in and out of the guard 
lines. The deputy sheriffs and special and regular police now 
police the city during the daytime, and the militia take charge of 
the cit}^ at night. 

" More than 2000 dead bodies have been identified, and tho 
estimate of Mayor Jones, that 5000 perished in Saturday's great 
hurricane, does not appear to be magnified. The city is being 
patrolled by troops and a citizens' committee, and a semblance of 
order is appearing. 

" At a conference held at the office of City Health Officei 
Wilkinson it was decided to accept the offer of the United States 
Marine Hospital Service and establish a camp at Houston, where 
the destitute and sick can be sent and be properly cared for. The 
physicians agreed that there were many iodigent sick in the city 
who should be removed from Galveston, and Houston was selected 
because that city had very thoughtfully suggested the idea and 
tendered a site for the camp. Acting upon the suggestion to estab- 
lish a camp and care for the sick and needy, a message was sent to 
the Surgeon-General, at the head of the Marine Hospital Corps, 
asking for 1000 tents of four-berth capacity each ; also several hun- 
•ired barrels of disinfecting fluid. 



HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 143 

"The health department is calling for loo men with drays to 
clean the streets. The plan is to district the city and start out 
the drays to remove all refuse and dead animals and cart all un- 
sanitary matter from the streets. It is anticipated that by Saturday 
the work will have advanced to cover the greater portion of the 
business district and part of the residence section. 

"Prior to the hurricane Galveston was one of the richest 
cities in the world, per capita, and the surviving millionaries who 
made their money here have read with displeasure the telegrams 
that the city would never survive the terrible blow it suffered. 
They insist that the city will be rebuilt and will be another 
Chicago, rising superior to the calamities that palsy the ordinary 
people. 

" The determination to rebuild the city received a strong im- 
petus to-day, when it v/as learned that G. W. Boscheke, assistant 
engineer of the Southern Pacific Railroad, had received orders by 
wire from New York to prepare plans at once for a double-track 
steel bridge across Galveston Bay ten feet higher than the old one, 
and to proceed with all the force possible. Engineers are already 
at work making a survey and running lines preparatory to the 
resumption of work. 

NEW SURVEY WILL BE MADE. 

" A telegram from New York says that Colonel H. M. Roberts, 
of the Engineering Corps, United States Engineers for the south- 
west district, said to-day that a survey will be made of the wrecked 
Galveston forts and works. Captain Richie has submitted a report, 
in which he says the foundations which were built on piling with- 
stood the ravages of the storm much better than the found/i- 
tions without piling. In the future it is proposed to use piling 
Exclusively. 

" Congressman R. B. Hawley, who was in Washington at the 
time of the storm, has arrived in this city. 

"'Work of vast importance is to be undertaken here,' said he; 
*work on different lines from that which has been our habit 
heretofore. 



144 HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 

" ' There are storms elsewhere. If the people in other parts of the 
country built as we build, their cities would be down and out nearly 
every year ; but they build structures to stay, and we must rebuild 
our city on different lines and in a different manner, that will resist 
the gales as they do. The port is all right. The fullest depth of 
water remains. The jetties, with slight repair, are intact, and 
because of these conditions the restoration will be more rapid than 
may be thought.' 

MORTALITY LIST IS ENORMOUS. 

In fact, while the mortality list of the city grows larger every 
hour, the prospects of Galveston grow brighter. An investigation 
shows that industries that were supposed to be wrecked forever are 
only slightly damaged, and business in them may be resumed any 
day. 

"J. C. Stewart, the grain elevator builder, after careful inspec- 
tion of the grain elevators and their contents, said the damage to 
the grain elevators was not over two per cent. The wheat will be 
loaded into vessels just as rapidly as they come to the elevator to 
take it. Ships are needed here at once. Mr. Stewart said he 
would put a large force of men to work clearing up each of the 
wharves, and the company will be ready for business within the 
the next eight days. The wharves have been damaged very little 
outside of the wreckage of the sheds. With the wreckage cleared 
away, Galveston will be in good shape for business. 

" At a meeting of the general committee last night the need 
of sprinkling the streets with a strong bichloride solution and 
taking other sanitary precautions was discussed, and after adjourn- 
ment of the general committee, the committee on correspondence 
sent the following telegram : 

" ' Our most urgent present needs now are disinfectants, lime, 
cement, gasoline stoves, gasoline, charcoal furnaces and charcoal. 
Nearby towns also may send bread. For the remainder of our 
wants, money will be most avilable, because we can make purchases 
from time to time with more discretion than miscellaneous con- 
tribul^/fs would exercise. We are bringing order out of chaos, 



HURRIED TO A WATERY GRAVE. 145 

and again offer our profound gratitude for tlie assistance so far 
received.' " 

Surveying tlie situation, one of our great journals bestowed 
these words of praise : *' Another good day's work was done yes- 
terday in behalf of the Texas sufferers. There has been no abate- 
ment in the generous giving of supplies and money. The fearful 
plight of the thousands who outlived the terrors of the storm has 
touched every heart profoundly. In Galveston alone, where rtie 
cyclone swept inland with fiercest fury, 25,000 persons are home- 
less. Half the population of what a week ago was a prosperous 
city, in a single day was left dependent upon charity. 

DANGER OF AN EPIDEMIC. 

" The danger of an epidemic now threatens the survivors. 
Many of the people are giving way to physical exhaustion. They 
have been compelled to subsist upon unwholesome food, drink pol- 
luted water and breathe the foul air of their unsanitary surround- 
ings. In spite of all that has been done for the relief of the 
stricken Texaus, the death roll is still growing. As many as pos- 
sible must be removed from the scene of destruction to more health- 
ful conditions. 

" What Philadelphia has done should go far to alleviate the 
immediate distress, yet this is only a drop in the great flow of char- 
ity. An additional $10,000 was sent to Governor Say res yesterday, 
making $25,000 in all that has been forwarded by the Citizens' Per- 
manent Relief Committee. And more subscriptions are daily flow- 
ing in. A number of physicians and nurses have volunteered their 
services and are only awaiting a reply from the Relief Committee 
on the ground. There will be work for them if sickness becomes 
prevalent, as is now feared. 

" Many of our citizens who wished to make donations of food, 

clothing and other supplies have again had recourse to the special 

trains that are being sent forward. Last night a second special of 

four heavily-laden cars was sent to Galveston. In addition to this, 

many subscriptions of money have been made and will be forwarded 

to the authorities in Texas." 
10 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Fears of Pestilence — Searching Parties Clearing Away the 

Ruins and Cremating the Dead — Distracted Crowds 

Waiting to Leave the City — Wonderful Escapes. 

*' The large force of men used in burying and cremating the 
exposed dead scattered throughout the city are trying to complete 
that portion of their work and are searching for the bodies of un- 
fortunates lying crushed beneath the mass of debris and wrecked 
buildings. Where the debris lies in detached masses, it is fired, 
and the bodies therein consumed. 

" When adjacent property will be endangered by fire, the 
mass of ruins is removed, the bodies are taken out and conveyed 
to a safe distance. Around them is piled the debris and the whole 
is saturated with oil and fired. It is quite impossible to identify 
the bodies as they are in all stages of putrefaction. 

" It is a gruesome and sad task. Some of the men engaged 
in this work are, perhaps, unknowingly helping to destroy all that 
is mortal of some loved one, who, a few days before, was the light 
of his home. The ghastly pile may contain the body of his wife, 
mother, brother, or some petted child ; but in nearly every in- 
stance he knows it not. 

" One pathetic incident occurred. A squad of men discovered 
in a wrecked building five bodies, among whom one of the party 
recognized a brother. All were in an advanced state of decompo- 
sition. They were all removed and a funeral pyre was made. 
The living brother, with a wrench in his heart, assisted, and witb 
Spartan-like firmness stood by and saw his brother's body reduced 
to ashes. 

" The appalling loss of life by the hurricane has benumbed 
the people and virtually dried up the fountains of grief. Neighbor 
meets neighbor and, with a hearty grasp of the hand, says " I 
hope all is well with you." The usual reply is, " I am sorry to 
say I am the only one left." 

146 



BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 1^^ 

^' You hear of sucli incidents everywliere — on tlie street, in 
the stores, around soda-fountains where crowds collect to quench 
their thirst, since water is scarce and the saloons are closed for an 
indefinite time. 

" Burial parties are organized at Virginia Point, Texas City, 
Port Bolivar and down the island, and the bodies there are being 
buried as rapidly as possible. Since something like order has 
come out of chaos a stop has been put to the looting and desecra- 
ition of bodies at Virginia Point by the bands of ghouls that had 
b terrorized that point, and they have been dispersed. 

MONEY CLINCHED IN DEATH GRIP. 

"Where the bodies are beyond identification and effects and 
jewelry are found, these are removed, and a memoranda taken for 
possible identification at some time by any one who is seeking a 
lost relative or friend. 

"A party that was picking up bodies for burial found the 
corpse of a nephew of Alderman John Wagner, eighteen years 
old, lodged in the forks of a tall cedar tree, two miles from his 
wrecked home. Tightly clinched in his right hand was $200, 
which his father had given him, with two twenty dollar gold 
pieces, to hold while the father attempted to close a door, which 
had blown open. 

" At that moment the house went down and the whole family 
except the father perished in the storm and flood. It would take 
volumes to record the many heartrending incidents of this sort 
and the heroism displayed during the fateful night of Saturday. 

"The loss of life in this city is simply appalling. Every 
little town within seventy-five miles of Galveston was wrecked 
and torn and people were killed and wounded. The damage to 
property will aggregate millions of dollars. The damage to 
I property in and around Alvin, a thriving town of two thousand 
people, where eleven people were killed and a number wounded, 
is estimated at $300,000, and they send out an urgent appeal for 
aid and relief supplies." 

" Captain Talfor, of the United States Engineer Corps, during 



14B BURNING THE RUlNS AND THE D£AD. 

the liiirricane was at Quintana, at the moiitli of tlie Brazos River, 
where he has been supervising government works. He stated to- 
day that the barometer fell to 27.60, and the v/ind velocity was one 
hundred and twenty miles an hour. Fifty-four houses were 
wrecked in Quintana, and the debris piled up in the streets. For- 
tunately no lives were lost. 

"The town of Velasco, three miles above, on the east side of 
the river, was completely wrecked. Nine persons were killed, 
three in the. hotel, which was badly demolished. Angleton, the 
county seat, of Brazoria, ten miles north of Velasco, was almost 
completely destroyed. Several lives were lost and a number of 
persons wf.-re badly injured. 

" Tlie property loss in these three towns and the country 
adjacent will be beyond the ability of the people to repair. Des- 
titution stares them in the face, and help is urgently needed there 
and in 'ill other towns within seventy-five miles of the city. The 
loss in proportion to population and means is just as great and as 
keenly felt as the loss and destruction in Galveston, and they 
should not be forgotten by the generous public, which is respond- 
ing with such noble promptness to Galveston's cry for help. 

SOLID TRAINLOADS OF SUPPLIES. 

"Supplies for the relief of Galveston's sufferers are coming 
in from every quarter as rapidly as the limited means of trans- 
portation here will admit. Solid trainloads from the North and 
East are speeding towards Galveston as fast as steam will bring 
them, while cities, chambers of commerce and other commercial 
bodies in this country, England and Continental Europe are sub- 
scribing thousands of dollars for the sufferers from one of the 
greatest calamities of the century. 

" The distribution of supplies here has not yet been put on av 
systematic basis. There is one general relief committee, with 
sub-committees in each ward. To these sub-committeemen 
sufferers must apply for relief, and are categorically questioned 
as to the extent of their distress. 

"If the answers are satisfactory, an order is issued for sup- 



BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. M? 

plies. If lie is au able bodied man, altliougli he ina}^ be lioiise- 
less and may have lost members of his farail}^, or have some 
injured by the storm and needing attention, he must perform 
labor before supplies are issued, and if he refuses he is impressed 
and compelled to work. 

"There are many so sadly injured or prostrated by the 
frightful experience they have recently undergone that they are 
unable to apply for relief, and would suffer from thirst and 
exposure unless housed, fed and cared for by humane people who 
have been less unfortunate. No effort thus far has been made by 
those in charge of relief affairs to hunt out these poor creatures 
and care for them. 

"And if they have male relatives, these are afraid to venture 

on the streets for fear they will be impressed and put to work, 

and thus taken away from those who need their constant care. 

The present method of relief needs to be radically revised, or it 

will fail of its purpose and defeat the object of those Vv^ho 

are so generously contributing. Medical relief is much better 

organized. 

EXODUS SERIOUSLY PIAMPERED. 

"The Transportation Committee is handicapped in its efforts 
to get out of the city the persons who are destitute by the lack of 
sufficient boats and rail communication. The latter want will not 
be supplied for many days. Present communication is by boat to 
Texas City, and then by the Galveston, Houston and Henderson 
Railway to Houston. Those who are able to pay are charged 
half fare ; those who are not are given free transportation. 
Guards are stationed at Texas City to prevent the curious from 
invading the city, eating up the limited food supply and doing no 
good. 

" The city in its present condition is not a healthy place for 
visitors. It is full of fever and other disease breeding matter, 
and smells like a charnel house. There is not a house of any 
character in the city but is foul and ill smelling. Plenty of lime- 
water and disinfectant is urgently needed here, or an epidemic 
will sweep through the city with hurricane force. 



150 BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD." ' ''' 

"Thousands of men are cutting passageways tlirougli the 
streets, clearing the sidewalks of the mass of debris, removing 
the sea slime from the floors of buildings and washing them out, 
but this does not dispose of it, and under the torrid sun it fer- 
ments and putrefies and the stench is fearful. 

'' The water failed to materialize as promised and this aggra- 
vates the situation. With a crippled fire department, the fire 
engines useless and no water supply, a fire, if it should break 
out, would speedily wipe out what remains of the city. 

^' It will be months before the business streets will be entirely 
cleared of rubbish and repaved, and it will be yeais before the 
damage done by the storm will be obliterated. It is impossible 
to conceive of the widespread destruction unless it is actually 
seen." 

ANOTHER REPORT FROM GENERAL McKIBBEN. 

Washington, D. C, Friday. — General McKibben on Septem- 
ber 12, reported to the War Department upon the conditions in 
Galveston as follows: — 

" General conditions are improving every hour. Repairs to 
water works will by to-morrow insure water supply for fire protec- 
tion. Provisions of all kinds are being received in large quant- 
ities. Enough are now en route and at Houston to feed all desti- 
tute for thirty days. 

"There is now no danger of suffering from lack of food or 
shelter. City under perfect control, under charge of Committee 
of Safety. Loss of life is probably greater than my conservative 
estimate of yesterday. Property loss enormous; not an individual 
in the city has escaped some loss ; in thousands of cases it is 
total. 

"To-day, in company with Colonel Robert and Captain 
Riche, I made an inspection at Fort Crockett, and by tug of the 
fortifications at Forts San Jacinto and Travis; with the exception 
of battery for two 4.7 rapid fire guns, batteries may be considered 
non-existent. Captain Riche has forwarded by wire this evening 
full report of conditions to Chief of Engineers. 



BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 151 

" I coincide in recommendation that all fortifications and 
ordnance property be transferred to engineer officer here for sal- 
vage. Earnestly recommend that Battery O, First Artiller}^, be 
ordered to Fort Sam Houston for recuperation and equipment; 
officers and men are largely destitute. At present a large num- 
ber are injured and unfit for duty. Impossible at present to^ 
furnish them with ordinary camp equipage, clothing, as all trans- 
portation facilities are being utilized to bring in food supplies." 

CAPTAIN RICHE'S REPORT. 

"Chief of Engineers, Army, Washington, D. C: 

"Jetties sunk nearly to mean low tide level, but not seriously 
breached. Channel at least as good as before ; perhaps better. 
Twenty -five feet certainly. Forts as follows: Fort Crockett — Two 
15-pounder emplacements, concrete all right, standing on piling 
water underneath. Battery for eight mortars about like preced- 
ing. Mortars and carriages on hand unmounted. 

" Battery for two lo-inch guns about like preceding, both 
guns mounted and in good shape. Shore line at Fort Crockett 
has moved back about six hundred feet. Fort San Jacinto — Bat- 
tery for eight 12-inch mortars badly wrecked, magazines reported 
fallen in ; mortars reported safe. No piling was under this bat- 
tery; some of the sand parapet left Battery for two lo-inch 
guns badly wrecked. Central portion level, both gun platforms 
down, guns leaning. No piling was under this battery. 

"Battery for two 4.7-inch rapid fire guns, concrete standing 
upon piling ; both guns apparently all right. Battery for two 
15-pounder guns, concrete apparently all right, standing upon 
piling. 

" Fort San Jacinto batteries could not be reached by laud ; 
inspection was from a distance. Sand around these batteries 
seemed pretty well leveled off to about two to three feet above 
mean low. Torpedo casemate, nothing but concrete left and badly 
wrecked. Concrete portion of cable tank left ; cable in it probably 
safe. Part of coal wharf still standing. 

" Everything else in vicinity gone. Some of the mine oases 



152 BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 

are down the beacli as far as Fort Crockett. Fort Travis — Bat- 
tery for three fifteen-pound guns, concrete intact, standing on 
piling, water underneath. Battery for two eight-inch guns, con- 
crete intact, except eastern emplacement, which has cracked off; 
eastern gun down and twenty feet from battery ; western one all 
•right ; concrete standing on piling, water underneath middle of 
Dattery. These batteries were inspected from the channel. 

" The shore line has moved back about one thousand feet, 
about on the line of the rear of these batteries. All buildings 
and other structures gone. Inspection was made with General 
McKibben. Recommendation was made that all fortifications and 
property be transferred to the Engineer Department ; that for the 
present batteries be considered non-existent, so that future work 
may be chargeable as original construction. 

" Much ordnance can be saved if given prompt attention. 
Unless otherwise instructed, I will take charge of these works at 
once and save all possible. New projects for jetties and forts 
cannot be submitted for several weeks, until definite detailed infor- 
mation is had. Further recommendations will then be submitted 
as soon as possible. Galveston is still a deep water port, and such 
a storm is not likely to reoccur for years." 

ESTIMATES OF THE DEAD ARE TOO LOW. 

Austin, Tex., Sept. 14 — *' I am thoroughly satisfied, after 
spending two days in Galveston, that the estimate of 6000 dead is 
too conservative. It will exceed that number. Nobody can even 
estimate or will ever know within 1000 of how many lives were 
lost." 

This was the opinion of Assistant State Health Officer I. J. 
Jones, who arrived at Austin directly from Galveston, where he 
was sent by Governor Sayres to investigate the condition of the 
State quarantine station. Dr. Jones made an inspection of the 
sanitary condition of the city, and in his report said further : 

'* It was with the greatest difficulty that I reached Galveston. 
At the quarantine situated in the Gulf, a mile and a half from the 
the wharves, I found things! in a state of ruin. The quar- 



biTrning the ruins and the dead. ; 15:5 

antine warehouse and disinfecting barge, just completed, are total 
wrecks, as is also the quarantine wharf. A part of the quarantine 
residence is left standing, but so badly damaged that it is not 
worth repairing. 

AN OFFICER'S BRAVERY. 

" Quarantine Officer Mayfield showed the greatest bravery 
and self-sacrifice when the storm came on. He sent all of his 
employees and his family, except two sons, who refused to leave 
him, to places of safety. He remained in the quarantine house 
with his two devoted sons throughout the terrible night. All of 
one wing of the house was taken away and the floor of the 
remaining part was forced up and carried away by the waters. 
Dr. Mayfield and his two sons spent the night on a stairway lead- 
ing from the upper floor to the attic. 

" Despite this destruction of the station, the quarantine has 
never been relaxed, and all vessels are promptly boarded upon 
arrival at Galveston. There are now three vessels lying at quar- 
antine. They brought cargoes to be discharged at Galveston and 
had cargoes consigned to them. The cargoes cannot be taken ofi" 
except by lighter, and the vessels are awaiting instructions from 
their owners. The Mallory Line Steamer " Alamo" got in Wed- 
nesday, but was sent back to the bay, as she could not discharge 
her cargo. 

"The sanitary condition of the city is very bad. While there 
has been no outbreak of sickness, every one expects that, and 
it is inevitable. There is no organized effort being made to 
improve sanitary conditions. Large quantities of lime have been 
ordered to the place, but I doubt if anyone will be found to 
unload it from the vessels and attend to its systematic distribu- 
tion when it arrives. 

"The stench is almost unbearable. It arises from piles of 
debris containing the carcasses of human beings and animals. 
These carcasses are being burned where such can be done with 
safety. But little of the wreckage can be destroyed in this man- 
ner, however, owing to the danger of starting a fire that will 
destroy what is left of the ill-fated city. There is no water pro* 



154 BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 

tection aud should fire break out the destruction of the city 
would soon be complete. 

"When searching parties come across a human body it is 
hauled out into an open space and wreckage piled over it. The 
pyre is then set on fire and the body slowly consumed. The odor 
from these burning bodies is horrible. 

"The chairman of the Central Relief Committee at Gal-" 
veston asked me to make the announcement that the city wants 
all the skilled mechanics and contractors with their tools that can 
be brought to Galveston. There is some repair work now going 
on, but it is impossible to find men who will work at that kind of 
business. Those now in Galveston who are not engaged in relief 
work have their own private business to look after and mechanics 
are not to be had. 

" All mechanics will be paid regular wages and will be given 

employment by private parties who desire to get their wrecked 

homes in habitable shape as rapidly as possible. There are many 

fine houses which have only the roof gone. These residences are 

finely furnished, and it is desired that the necessary repairs be 

made quickly. 

WELL ORGANIZED. 

" The relief work is fairly well organized. Nothing has been 
accomplished, except the distribution of food among the needy, 
and some attempt at clothing them. I found no one who was 
hungry or thirsty. About one-half of the city is totally wrecked, 
and many people are living in houses that are badly wrecked. 
The houses that are only slightly injured are full of people who 
are being well cared for. The destitute are b^-iug removed from 
the city as rapidly as possible. It will take vnree or four days 
yet before all who want to go have been removed from the island 
city. A remarkably large number of horses survived the storm, 
but there is no feed for them, and many of them will soon die of 
starvation. 

"In the city the dead bodies are being disposed of in every 
manner possible. They are burying the dead found on the main- 
land. At one place 250 bodies were found and buried on Wedues- 



BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 155 

4ay. There must be hundreds of dead bodies back on the prairies 
that have not been found. It is impossible to make a search there 
on account of the debris. There will be many a skeleton of vic- 
vims of the disaster found on the prairie in the months and years 
to come. 

" Bodies have been found as far back from the present main- 
land shore of the bay as seven miles. That embraces a big tcrri- 
tor}^ which is covered with rank grass, holes filled with water and 
piles of debris. It would take an army to search this territory on 

the mainland. 

THE GULF FULL OF BODIES. 

"The waters of the Gulf and bay are still full of bodies, and 
they are being constantly cast upon the beach. On my trip to 
and from the quarantine station I passed a procession of bodies 
going seaward. I counted fourteen of them on my trip from the 
station, and this procession is kept up day and night. The cap- 
tain of a ship who had just reached quarantine informed me that 
he began to meet floating bodies fifty miles from the port. 

" As an illustration of how high the water got in the Gulf, a 
vessel which was in port tried to get into the open sea when the 
storm came on. It got out some distance and had to put back. 
It was dark and all the landmarks had been obliterated. The course 
of the vessel could not be determined, and she was being furiously 
driven in toward the island by the wind. Before her course could 
be established she had actually run over the top of the north jetty. 
As the vessel draws twenty-five feet of water some idea can be ob- 
tained as to the height of the water in the Gulf." 

They marry and are given in marriage. A wedding tooK. 
place in Galveston. It occurred at the Tremont Hotel. Ernest A. 
Mayo, a lawyer, and a candidate for Prosecuting Attorney, was 
the bridegroom. Mrs. Bessie Roberts was the bride. The engage- 
ment was of long standing. Both suff'ered much from the 
storm. They decided that it was better to cast their fortunes; 
together. Friends approved. The ceremony took place on 
Thursday, the 13th, five days after the flood. 

Governor Sayres was advised on the fourteenth that a gov- 



156 BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 

ernment vessel, which was loaded with supplies at Texas City foi 
the Galveston sufferers, went aground shortly after leaving the 
wharf, and had not yet been gotten off. It was found that vessels 
could not cross the bay at that point, and thereafter they would 
be sent to some other point which had a deeper channel connec- 
tion with Galveston. 

The estimates of immediate losses in the aggregate vary 
widely. It may be said that none of them are below $20,000,000. 
The maximum, as given by intelligent residents, including some 
members of the Citizens' Committee, is $35,000,000. One of the 
Galveston business men sent to Austin to confer personally with 
Governor Sayres on the work of relief, inclined to the belief that 
the immediate losses might, without exaggeration, be placed at 
$35,000,000. 

In the indirect class are the losses which must be sustained 
through the paralysis of business, the reduction of population, the 
stoppage of industries, and the general disturbance of commercial 
relations, and Galveston business men hesitate to form an}^ con- 
clusion as to what the moral losses must be. 

A REFUGEE'S TALE OF HORROR. 

F. B. Campbell, who was in Galveston when the floods swept 
upon it, was one of the first refugees to reach the North. He 
passed through Pittsburg, six days after the disaster, on his way 
to Springfield, Mass., which is his home. Mr. Campbell had his 
right arm fractured. William E. Frear, a Philadelphia commer- 
cial traveller, who was with Campbell in Galveston, accompanied 
him as far north as Cincinnati, and went home on the express. 
Frear' s right ankle was sprained. 

Campbell was a cotton broker and was overwhelmed at his 
'boarding house while at dinner. He reached a heap of wreckage 
by swimming through an alle}^ Of the scene when he left, 
Campbell said : 

" The last I saw of Galveston was a row of submerged build- 
ings where a thriving city stood. A waste of water spread in all 
directions. In the sea were piles of wreckage and the carcasses oi 



BURNINv^ THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 1&7 

animals and the bodies of hundreds of human beings. The salt 
marshes presented an indescribable sight. Nude forms of human 
beings, that had been swept across the bay were scattered ever}', 
where. No man could count them without going insane. It 
looked like a graveyard, where all the tenants of the tombs had 
been exhumed and the corpses thrown to the winds." 

SOME WONDERFUL ESCAPES. 

There were many wonderful incidents of the great storm. 
In the infirmary at Houston was a boy whose name is Rutter. He 
was found on Monday morning lying beside a truck on the land 
near the town of Hitchcock, which is twenty miles to the north- 
ward of Galveston. This boy is only 12 years old. His story is 
that his father, mother and two children remained in the house. 
There was a crash and the house went to pieces. The boy says 
that he caught hold of a trunk when he found himself in the water 
and floated off with it. He thinks the others were drowned. With 
the trunk the boy floated. He had no idea of where it took him, 
but when daylight came he was across the bay and out upon the 
still partially submerged mainland. 

When their home went to pieces the Stubbs family, husband, 
wife and two children, climbed upon the roof of a house floating 
by. They felt tolerably secure, when, without warning, the roof 
parted in two places. Mr, and Mrs. Stubbs were separated and 
each carried a child. The parts of the raft went different ways in 
the darkness. One of the children fell off and disappeared, and 
not until some time Sunday was the family reunited. Even the 
child was saved, having caught a table and clung to it until it 
reached a place of safety. 

One of the most remarkable escapes recorded during the 
flood was reported to-day when news came that a United States 
battery man on duty at the forts last week had been picked up on 
Morgan's Point, injured but alive. He had buffeted the waves for 
five days and lived through a terrible experience. Morgan's Point 
is thirty miles from Galveston. 

Galveston, Tex., Sept. 14. -The local Board of Health, 



158 BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 

througli Dr. H. A. West, its secretary, has made a demand that 
the work of clearing up the dwelling houses be turned over to 
physicians. This work has been under the direction of Adj u- 
tant General Scurry, and he has proved himself so capable that 
the Relief Committee declined to make any division of respon- 
sibility. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the number of boats carrying 
passengers between Texas City and Galveston has been largely 
. increased, it was impossible yesterday to leave the city after the 
early morning hours. Yesterday the " Lawrence," after jamming 
her nose into the mud, remained aground all day. Her pas- 
sengers were taken off in small sailboats, and by noon a dozen of 
them heavily loaded started from Galveston to Texas City. 

INTENSE SUFFERING ON THE WATER. 

The wind died away utterlj^ and the boats could neither go 
on to Texas City nor return to Galveston. None of them had 
more than a meager supply of water, which was soon exhausted ; 
the sun beat down with a merciless severity. In a short time 
babies and young children became ill and in many instances their 
mothers were also prostrated. There was absolutely no relief to 
be had, as the tugs of Galveston Bay, which might have given 
the sloops tow, are all made for deep sea work and draw too much 
water to allow of their crossing the shallow channel. 

Hour after hour the people on the boats, all of which 
were densely packed, were compelled to broil in the torturing 
and blinding sun. A slight breeze arising in the evening at 9 
o'clock, the sailing craft which had left Galveston at noon began to 
dump their passengers upon the beach at Texas City. Owing to 
a delay in Houston trains it was fully twenty hours after their 
start from Galveston that the people who left there yesterday 
noon were able to move out from Texas City, which is only eight 
miles away, and by the time the train had made a start for Hous- 
ton every woman in the crowd was ill through lack of food, expo- 
sure and insufficient sleep. 

In the long list of the dead of Galveston the family name of 



BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 1.50 

Labett appears several times. Only a year or two ago five gene- 
rations of the Labetts were living at one time in Galveston. 

The family nearly suffered the destruction of the family 
name in the storm. A young man connected with one of the rail- 
roads was down town and escaped. When the parties of searchers 
were organized and proceeded to various parts of the city one of 
them came across this young Labett near the ruins of his home 
all alone. He had made his way there and had found the bodies of 
father and mother and other relatives. He had carried the dead to 
a drift of sand, and there without a tool, with his bare hands and 
a piece of board he was trying to scrape out gravel to bury the 

bodies 

GALVESTON REFUGEES AT HOUSTON. 

The "Post" of Houston prints a list of 2701 names of Gal> 
veston dead, compiled from various sources, but believed to be 
authentic. There are many bodies still in the ruins of Galveston 
and scattered along the beach of the mainland and in the marshes. 

About 1300 people arrived here from Galveston on the 13th. 
Four buildings have been set apart for the benefit of refugees, but 
of the 3500 who have reached here so far not more than 800 remain 
in the public charge, the remainder of them going to the homes 
of relatives and friends. 

MESSAGES FOR THE DEAD. 

The following statement was made on Friday, the 14th ; it 
was dated at Dallas : 

" Galveston is no longer shut off from wire communication 
with the outside world. At 1.15 o'clock this afternoon the Postal 
Telegraph and Cable Company received a bulletin from the 
storm-stricken city stating that wire connection had been made 
across the bay by cable, and that direct communication with the 
island city was resumed with two wires working and that two 
more would be ready by to-morrow. A rush of messages fol- 
lowed. 

" The Western Union got in direct communication with Gal- 
veston this afternoon, and soon that office was also crowded. 



160 BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAL). 

Pro^iably never before has there been so much telegraphing to 
tb% dead. The headquarters of the Western Union and Postal 
systems located in this city report that in Dallas, Houston and 
Galveston are thousands of messages addressed to persons who 
can never call for them or receive them. 

' Some of the persons addressed are known to be dead, and 
there is no doubt that l^undreds of others are among the thou- 
sands of unknown and unidentified victims of the storm whose 
bodies have been dun>>ped into the sea, consigned to unmarked 
graves or cremated in the great heaps that sanitary necessity 
marked for the torch and the incinerating pyre. 

" The insurance questions are beginning to receive serious 
attention. JLife insurance companies are going to be hit very 
hard. Tie question that particularly engages the attention of 
representatives is whether settlement shall be made without liti- 
gation. The general southwestern agents for eight big insurance 
companies were interviewed to-day, and they stated that all Dallas 
insurance men concur in the opinion that the insurance policies 
against storm losses carried by Galvestonians will not aggregate 
$10,000,000. They say there was absolutely no demand fo" such 
insurance at Galveston." 

WHOLE FAMILY KILLED BY STORM. 

Among those who were caught in the storm that devastated 
Galveston on Sunday night were six persons who comprised the 
family of Peter B. McKenna, a former resident of Philadelphia. 
According to news received by their relatives in that city, all 
perished. 

When word of the Texas disaster first came it was reported 
'that the entire family had been lost, but it later developed that a 
married daughter, who lives in Omaha, Neb., was not visiting her 
parents, as was first supposed, and therefore escaped the death 
that overtook her relatives. 

Peter E. McKenna, the head of the family, was well known 
in Philadelphia during his youth. His father was one of the 
pioneers in the religious press. The son followed the profession 



BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 



161 



of his father, and after engaging in the publication of newspapers 
and religious weeklies until 1862 he sought fortune in the 
West. 

Galveston at the time was a growing city, and as it offered 
the opportunities Mr. McKenna desired he settled there and 
devoted himself to the upbuilding of newspapers. His success was 
of such a nature that he made his permanent home in Galveston, 
and during the thirty-eight years that have passed, was recognized 
as one of the most foremost journalists in that city. Latterly he 
was connected with the Galveston " Despatch " and also conducted 
a publishing house forhimseK 

Separated as he was by thousands of miles from the city of 
his birth, Mr. McKenna was able to make only a few visits during 
the last twenty-five years, but he k'^'^t up a constant correspond- 
ence with several relatives. In these letters there was frequent 
mention of the fact that the city was lower than the sea and open 
to the attacks of any storm that might form in the Gulf of 

Mexico. 

CLEARING THE WATER FRONT. 

At a conference held at the office of the City Health Officer 
on Frida}^, the 14th, it was decided to accept the offer of the Marine 
Hospital Service, and ei:tablish a camp at Houston, where the 
destitute and invalids can be sent. The physicians agreed that 
there were many indigent persons in the city who should be 
removed. A message was sent to the Surgeon General asking 
that the department furnish one thousand tents, of four-berth 
capacity each ; also seven hundred barrels of disinfecting fluid. 

Another important movement in the direction of sanitation 

was made by the Health Department in calling for one hundred 

men with drays to clean the streets. The idea is to district the 

city and start the drays to remove all unsanitary matter from the 

streets. 

STRANGE BURIAL PLACES AND GRAVES. 

Although the work of disposing of the dead is being pushed, 

several hundred bodies are still buried beneath the wreckage. 

Thirty-two sand mounds iri;ii-ked with small boards, attract 
11 



162 



BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 



attention on the beach, near Twentj^-sixth street, and tell the 
story of where about seventy-five bodies have been buried. 

One of the greatest needs of the city now is disinfectants. 
The local Committee on Correspondence drafted this general 
message to the country : 

" Our most urgent present needs now are disinfectants, 
[Jime, cement, gasoline stoves, gasoline, charcoal furnaces, and 
charcoal. Nearby towns also may send bread. For the remain- 
der of our wants money will be most available because we can 
make purchases from time to time with more discretion than mis- 
cellaneous contributors would exercise. We are bringing order 
out of chaos and again offer our profound gratitude for the assist- 
ance so far received." 

The first real attempt to clear away the great mass of debris 
piled along the beach front for several miles was begun to-day. 
Advertisements this morning asking for hundreds of men and 
boys were answered by a multitude. It is hoped that a vigorous 
prosecution of the work will lead to the early recovery of the bod- 
ies in the debris. That there are many of them there is no shadow 

of doubt. 

SEEKING FORMER RESIDENCES. 

A correspondent walked along the beach for some distance 
to-a^-y and the stench was sickening. Everywhere little groups 
of men, women and children, some poorly clad, were digging in 
the ruins of their homes for what little household property they 
could save. In many cases, those seeking their former residences 
were unable to find a single remnant of them. 

The exodus from the city was heavy to-day, and hundreds 
more were eager to leave, but were unable to secure transporta- 
tion. Along the bay front there were scores of families with 
dejected faces, pleading to be taken from the stricken city, where, 
in spite of every effort to restore confidence, there is much depres- 
sion. 

J. C. Stewart, a builder, after a careful inspection of the 
grain elevators and their contents, said the damage to the ele- 
vators was not over two per cent. Mr. Bailey said he would put 



BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 163 

a large force of men to work clearing up each of the wharves, 
and the company will be ready for business within eight days. 
The wharves have been damaged very little outside of the wreck- 
age of the sheds. With the wreckage cleared away Galveston 
will be in shape for beginning business. 

SOUTHERN PACIFIC WILL REBUILD. 

To a journal in New York the " Galveston News " sent the 
following important statement: 

"You ask the 'News' what is our estimate of Galveston's 
future and what the prospects are for building up the city. Briefly 
stated, the ' News ' believes that inside of two years there will exist 
upon the island of Galveston a city three times greater than the 
one that has just been partially destroyed. The devastation has 
been great and the loss of life terrible, but there is a hopefulness 
at the very time this answer is being penned you that is surpris- 
ing to those who witness it. That is not a practical answer to 
your inquiries, however. 

"The principal feature is this — The Southern Pacific com- 

pau}^ has ordered a steel bridge built across the bay ten feet 

higher than the trestlework on the late bridges. The company 

has ordered also a doubling up of forces to continue and improve 

their wharves, and with this note of encouragement from the 

great enterprise upon which so much depends the whole situation 

is cleared up. 

AN EXCELLENT PORT. 

" Our wharves will be rebuilt, the sanitary condition of the 
city will be perfected ; streets will be laid with material superior 
to that destroyed, new vigor and life will enter the community 
^ with the work of construction, and the products of the twenty-one 
States and Territories contiguous will pour through the port of 
Galveston. 

"We have now, through the action of this storm, with all its 
devastation, thirty feet of water on the bar, making this port the 
equal, if not the superior, of all others on the American seaboard. 
The island has stood the wrack of the greatest storm convulsion 



1(54 BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 

kuowu in the history of any latitude, and there is no longer a 
question of the stability of the island's foundation. If a wind 
velocity of one hundred and twenty miles an hour and a water 
volume of fifteen feet in some places upon the island did not 
have the effect of washing it away, then there is no wash to it. 

" Galveston island is still here, and here to stay, and it will 
be made in a short time the most beautiful and progressive city 
in the Southwest. This may be esteemed simply a hopeful view, 
but the conditions existing warrant acceptance of the view to the 
fullest extent. 

"The 'News' will not deal with what is needed from a gen- 
eroiis public to the thousands of suffering people now left with us. 
The dead are at rest. There are twenty thousand homeless peo- 
ple here, whose necessities at this time are great indeed. Assist- 
ance is needed for them in the immediate future. The great 
works of material and industrial energy will take care of them- 
selves by the attraction here presented for the profitable employ- 
ment of capital. We were dazed for a day or two, but there is no 
gloom here now as to the future. Business has already been 

resumed." 

PLAN TO PROTECT GALVESTON. 

Can the city of Galveston, almost obliterated by the lecent 
storm, be protected from all future assaults by the Gulf? 

Colonel Henry M. Robert, United States Corps of Engineers, 
and divisional engineer of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, who is 
stationed here at present, says that Galveston can be absolutely 
protected from every storm by a sea wall built along the Gulf 
front. 

Colonel Robert, during the late spring, while on a visit to 
Galveston, suggested a comprehensive plan for the improvement 
of that harbor, which was hailed by the cit}^ and State as solving 
the problem of the creation of a great port in Galveston Bay. 
This plan would also aixord a great measure of protection to the 
cit}^ from inundation on its northern and southwestern sides 
should a strong wind from the Gulf pile up the water on the 
shallow floors of Galveston and West bays. 



BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 165 

Colonel Robert's plan contemplates the construction of a great 
basin for harbor purposes, as well as for dry docks, to the north- 
west of the city. The basin would be formed by a retaining wall 
shutting out Galveston and West bays, and by filling in the parts 
of the Gulf floor between this retaining wall and the walls or 
shores of the basin. 

The northern retaining wall would follow generally the line 
of the south jetty, and a deep water channel of twenty-five to 
thirty feet would be left between the new land and the city of 
Galveston, connecting the channel formed by the jetties with the 
inner basin. Pelican Island would be the backbone of the made 
land, and all of Pelican Flats would be transformed into solid land, 
to be used for railway and docking purposes. 

THE PROJECT WAS APPROVED. 

TI e plan also involved the extension of the jetty channel 
through Galveston Bay and up Buffalo Baj^ou as far as Houston, 
more than sixty miles distant, making the latter city an open sea- 
port. Railways would have, by means of the fiUed-in land, ready 
access to the city, and, in addition, the port facilities of Galveston 
would be many times increased, and a continuous sea channel be 
constructed from the Gulf to Houston. 

This project, as outlined by Colonel Robert, received the 
unqualified approval of the various interests concerned in the 
development of Galveston harbor, and steps had been taken to 
carry out the plan before the onslaught of the recent storm swept 
away water lines and much of the city itself. Colonel Robert now 
^proposes an additional plan, simple and inexpensive, for affording 
the fullest and most complete measure of protection from all 
storms. This new plan is to construct a sea wall along the Gulf 
front of the city. 

It is estimated that the height of the waves in the recent 
storm, which was the severest ever experienced on the Texas 
coast, was about ten to twelve feet. Colonel Robert suggests 
that a wall at least twelve feet above the beach, and running 
the entire length of the water front, or about ten miles, be built 



166 BURNING THE RUINS AND THE DEAD. 

immediately to barricade tlie city from tlie Gulf. A height of 
twelve feet above the beach would give fourteen feet above the 
water, and would, Colonel Robert thinks, afford ample protection. 

COST OF THE SEA WALL. 

As to the expense of such a structure, it is thought by engi- 
neers that a liberal estimate would be about $1,500,000 per mile. 
This wall, as projected by Colonel Robert, would extend from a 
point on the south jetty, where the latter crosses the Gulf front 
of the city, and would follow the line of the beach, two or three 
feet above the water level, until it reached the southwestern limit 
of the island, in the shallow water of West Bay. At the latter 
point the danger from storms is not serious. 

At present the depth of water between the jetties is 26% feet, 
and it is thought that it will soon be thirty feet. The average depth 
of the original channel across the twenty-five miles of Galveston 
Bay is about twelve feet. It is proposed by Colonel Robert's plan 
to increase this to at least twenty-five feet. An additional and 
supplementary plan is to extend the improvement, so as to create 
a system of coast channels that will transform Galveston into a 
central port with a labyrinth of waterways. 

EXTENSIVE HARBOR IMPROVEMENT. 

The magnitude of the plan for the improvement of the har- 
bor of Galveston may be imagined when it is observed that the 
inner basin, or harbor, is to be about five miles long by three 
broad, that it may be approached by a deep water channel accommo- 
dating ocean going vessels of the deepest draught. The outlet 
into West Bay will not be so deep, as the bay itself is navigable 
by light draught vessels only. The new land, formed on the basis 
of Pelican Island and flats will be about four miles square. 

Colonel Robert said that a survey will be made at once of the 
wrecked forts and other military works at Galveston. A report 
received from that place says that those portions of the works 
erected upon piling withstood the storm. It is proposed to use 
piling entirely for similar works in the future. 



CHAPTER IX. 

StGiy of a Brave Hero — A Vast Army of Helpless Victims-- 

Scenes that Shock the Beholders — Our Nation 

Rises to the Occasion. 

WHEN Galveston's chapter of horrors had reached its crisis, 
when the people were dazed, leaderless and almost helpless, 
so that they went about bewildered and did little more than 
gather a few hundred of the bodies which were in their way, a long- 
shoreman became the hero of the hour. It was not until Monday 
that the brave leaders, who are usually not discovered in a commu- 
nity until some great emergency arises, began to forge in front. 
The}^ were not men from one rank in point of wealth or intelli- 
gence. They came from all classes. 

For example, there was Hughes, the longshoreman. Bodies 
which lay exposed in the streets, and which had to be removed 
somewhere lest they be stepped on, were carried into a temporary 
morgue until 500 lay in rows on the floor. 

A VERY GRAVE PROBLEM. 

Then a problem in mortality such as no other American com- 
munity ever faced was presented. Pestilence, which stalked forth 
by Monday, seemed about to take possession of what the storm had 
left. Immediate disposition of those bodies was absolutely neces- 
sary to save the living. 

Then it was that Lowe and McVittie and Sealy and the others, 
who by common impulse had come together to deal with the prob-' 
lem, found Hughes. The longshoreman took up the most grue- 
some task ever seen, except on a battlefield. He had to have help-, 
ers. Some volunteered ; others were pressed into the service at the 
point of the bayonet. 

Whisky by the bucketful was carried to these men, and they 
^ere drenched with it. The stimulant was kept at hand and ap- 
plied continuously. Onl}- m this way was it possible for the stout- 
est-hearted to work in such surroundings. 

1(J7 



168 VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 

Under the direction of Hughes these hundreds of bodies al- 
ready collected and others brought from the central part of the 
city — those which were quickest found — were loaded on an ocean 
barge and taken far off into the gulf to be cast into the sea. 

There were 38,000 people in the city when the census was 
taken a few weeks before the flood. After a careful survey of the 
desolate field since the storm and flood have wrought their sad 
havoc, the conclusion is forced that there were in Galveston 25,000 
people, or thereabouts, who had to be fed and clothed. The propor- 
tion of thosewhowere in fair circumstances andlost all is astonishing. 

Relief cannot be limited to those who formed the poorer class 
before the storm. An intelligent man left Galveston, taking his 
wife and child to relatives. He said : "A week ago I had a good 
home and a business which paid me between $400 and $500 a month. 
To-day I have nothing. My house was swept away and my busi- 
ness is gone. I see no way of re-establishing it in the near future." 
This man had a real estate and house renting agency. 

STRIPPED OF ALL THEIR POSSEvSSIONS. 

At the military headquarters one of the principal oflBcials do- 
ing temporary service for this city said : " Before the storm I had 
a good home and good income. I felt rich. My house is gone and 
my business. The fact is I don't even own the clothes I stand be- 
fore you in. I borrowed them." 

Now these are not exceptional cases. They are fairly typical. 
They must be fed and clothed, these 25,000 people, until they can 
work out their temporal salvation. 

And then something ought to be done to help the worthy get 
, m their feet and make a fresh start. Some people will leave Gal- 
' veston. It is plain, however, that nothing like the number expected 
will go. Galveston is still home to the great majority. Those who 
can stay and live there will do so. If the country responds to the 
needs in anything like the measure given to Johnstown, Chicago, 
Charlestowu and other stricken cities and sections, Galveston as a 
community will not only be restored, but will enter upon a greater 
future than was expected before the storm. 



VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 169 

Since Tuesday tliere has been no doubt of Galveston's res- 
toration. From a central organization the relief work was divided 
by wards. A depot and a sub-committee were established in each 
ward of the city. 

" They who will not work shall not eat," was the principle 
adopted when the organization was perfected. Few idle mouths 
' are being fed in Galveston. There are, however, the fatherless, and 
there are widows, and there are sick who must have charity. But 
the able-bodied are working in parties under the direction of bosses. 
They are being paid in food and clothing. In this way the Relief 
Committee is within the first week meeting the needs of the sur- 
vivors, and at the same time is gradually clearing the streets and 
burning the ruins and refuse. 

PICTURES IN SHARP CONTRAST. 

Of Galveston's population of 38,000 it is estimated that 8000 
were killed. 

The area of total destruction was about 1300 acres. 

There were 5000 dwellings, hotels, churches and convents 
utterly destroyed. 

More than 2000 bodies have been burned. 

The property loss is not less than $15,000,000. 

One hundred and twenty-five men, most of them negroes, were 
shot to death for robbing the dead. " Decimation " is the word 
often employed to emphasize destruction of life. Galveston was 
" decimated " twice over by this storm. 

It took on the part of the public-spirited men a good deal of 
boldness to lay down the law that the support tendered by the 
country must be earned and to enforce it. But before two days had 
passed the whole community was at work cheerfully. A tour 
through the city, up one street and down another, showed the 
greatest activity. Thousands and not hundreds of men were drag- 
ging the ruins into great heaps and applying the torch. Occa- 
sionally they came on the remains of human beings and hastily 
added them to the blazing heaps. But it is notable that much less 
is said now about the dead than during the early days. Tht minds 



170 VAST ARlVi 1 OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 

of the people who survived have passed from that phase of the 
calamity. 

A soldier standing guard at a place on the beach where these 
fires were burning thickly was asked if the workers were still find- 
ing bodies. 

"Yes,'' he replied, "a good many!" That was all. Three 
days ago the same soldier would have gone into particulars. He 
would have told how many had been found in this place and in 
that. 

The commander of one of these squads came into head- 
quarters to deliver a report to Colonel McCaleb. He had nothing 
to say about bodies, but wanted to tell that a trunk in fairly good 
condition, with valuable contents, had been taken out of one heap, 
and that the owner might be found through marks of identification 
which he had noted. So it goes ; the thought is of the living 
rather than of the dead. 

SIGNS OF RESTORATION EVERYWHERE. 

The women of Galveston are working as never before. Where- 
ever one goes carpets and clothing and mattresses and rugs are 
hung on fences and galleries. The scrubbing-brushes are going„ 
A smell of carbolic acid is in the air. The housekeepers are bust- 
ling in and out. Every residence that can be called habitable is 
undergoing renovation most thoroughly. The sound of the ham- 
mer is heard everywhere. Amateur carpenters are patching and 
strengthening homes which, in the better spirit that prevails, they 
uiay now hope to save. 

One of the strongest impressions that is gained of the work 
of restoration is from the sights in front of the stores. Merchants 
and clerks are overhauling stocks. Where the articles are such 
that it can be done they are carried out in front of the stores and 
spread in the sun to dry. Tons of dry goods, clothing, hats and 
caps, boots and shoes are spread in the streets and on the pave- 
ments, so that in places it is difficult to get past. 

In these stores the watermarks on the walls and shelves varies 
from waist to shoulder high. Everything below these levels was 



VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 171 

saturated. The loss of stocks affected by water is very great. But 
the disposition of the storekeepers to make the l^ei^t of it and to 
save something, even if badly damaged, is cheering. 

Full of confidence and even optimistic are the expressions of 
the men who have taken the lead in this crisis. Said Colonel Lowe, 
of the Galveston News : "In two years this town will be rebuilt ^ 
upon a scale which we would not have obtained so quickly without 
this devastation. 

" I took it for granted that when the Southern Pacific manage- 
ment said to its representatives, as it has said : ' Build a bridge ten 
feet higher than the old one and put on a double force to do it,' our 
future was assured. We shall go forward and create the city. We 
shall liave some restrictions as to rebuilding lines, especially on 
the beach side, where the greatest losses were sustained. The ram- 
shackle way in which too much, construction has been done hereto- 
fore will be of the past." 

SAVING VAST GRAIN STORES. 

If any one had predicted on Sunday or Monday that on Friday 
and Saturday Galveston would be doing business at the old stand, 
he would have been laughed to scorn. What the grain men are 
planning very fairly tells the story. It applies to all lines of busi- 
ness. The storm caught 2,500,000 bushels of wheat in cars and 
elevators. Superstructures of the elevators were carried away, and 
in other ways the immense buildings were somewhat damaged. 
These indefatigable people six days later are perfecting their 
arrangements to save that grain and export it. Robiusou, the in- 
spector, said : 

" Without more rain for a few days, say six or eight, we shall' 
begin loading that wheat on ships for export. Don't you believe 
anything you hear about permanent damages to Galveston as the 
result of the storm. 

" We have got the grandest harbor here. Why, our channel 
instead of being filled by the storm carrying sand into it was 
scoured two feet deeper than it was before. We had then twenty- 
eight to twenty-nine feet of water. We have now thirty feet. 



172 VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 

" Noue of tlie danger of sickness that was feared lias shown 
itself We are getting rid of the wreckage, and we are scattering 
car loads of lime and other disinfectants everywhere. I believe all 
danger is passed. Talk about Galveston giving up !" continued 
Mr. Robinson, " This great wharf property is worth |i8,ooo,ooo. 
'■ It sustained a loss of less than $500,000. 

" The company has 1000 men at work on the repairs. It 
stared eternity in the face Saturday night, and was ready to go. 
To-day I have got more energy and ambition than I ever had. I 
don't know where I got it. I guess God gave it to me. Come 
back in sixty days, and you will not know Galveston, remembering 
it as you see it to-day." 

TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES OF A YOUNG GIRL. 

Miss Maud Hall, who was spending her school vacation in 
Galveston, and who passed through the storm, has written of her 
experience to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Emory Hall, of Dallas. 
Miss Hall was in the house where she was boarding at the time the 
storm came. She says : 

" The wind and rain rose to a furious whirlwind, and all the 
time the water crept higher and higher. We all crowded into the 
hall, and the house, a big two-story one, rocked like a cradle. 
About 6 o'clock the roof was gone, all the blinds torn off and all 
the windows blown in. Glass was flying in all directions and the 
water had risen to a level with the gallery. Then the men told us 
we would have to go to a house across the street. 

"It took two men to each woman to get her across the street 
and down to the end of the block. Trees thicker than any in our' 
yard were whirled down the street and the water looked like a 
whirlpool. I came near drowning with another girl. It was dark 
by this time, and the men put their arms around us and down intq 
the water we went. 

" I spent the night — such a horrible one ! — wet from my 
slioulders to my waist and from my knees down, and barefoot. 
Nobody had any shoes and stockings. The house was packed 
with people just like us. The windows were blown out, and it 



VAST ARMY OF HEI.PLESS VICTIMS. 173 

rocked from top to bottom, and the water came into the first floor. 
About 3 o'clock in the morning the wind had changed and blew 
the water back into the Gulf. 

" As soon as we could we waded home. Such a home ! The 
water had risen three feet in the house, and the roof being gone the 
rain poured in. We had not had anything to eat since noon the 
day before, and we lived on whisky. 

" It was awful. Dead animals every where and the streets 
filled with fallen telegraph poles and brick stores blown over. 
Hundreds of women and children and men sitting on steps cryini^f 
lost ones, and nearly half of them injured! Wild-eyed, ghastly- 
looking men hurried by and told of whole families killed. All day 
wagon after wagon passed filled with dead, most of them without a 
thing on them, and men with stretchers with dead bodies with just 
a sheet thrown over them, some of them little children." 

HOPING FOR THE BEST. 

Says an eye-witness of the terrible scene : 

" What a contrast ! Last Sunday, gloom, desolation and black 
despair prevailed. This storm-tossed city was filled with desola- 
tion. The sorrow of the survivors for the dead was unspeakable, 
the destruction of property indescribable, the people were palsied, 
and in the gloom of devastation and death there was no silver 
li ling to the pall that darkly overshadowed them. To-day hope 
and determination buoy up the people. 

" They realize that the task before them is titanic yet, with the 
generous aid that is floating to them from all parts of the civilized 
world, born of a common humanity, that makes the whole world 
akin, aided by their own indomitable purpose, the sick and wounded 
will be healed, the destitute relieved and the recuperation of Gal- 
veston will be speedy and lasting. It is the spirit that turns defeat 
into victory, makes a people strong, glorious and prosperous. You* 
hear no complaining, no expression of want of confidence, but of 
hope, zeal and determination, and this is exemplified by th« vigor- 
ous enterprise visible on every hand. 

" Although it is the Sabbath, work is being pushed under a 



174 VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 

systematic plan of operation that is rapidl}^ bringing order ont of 
chaos. The search and burial or cremation of the unfortunate 
victims within the corporation limits of the city are being rapid]y 
prosecuted by a large force in squads under military direction. 
Down the island and on the mainland the work of interring the 
dead is conducted with the same system. 

"As new conditions constantly develop, the cleaning up and 
disinfecting the streets, stores and buildings go bravely on, and the 
sanitary condition of the down portion of the town has been 
greatly improved, and Mayor Jones stated to-day that there would 
be no let-up in the work until the entire city was cleaned and dis- 
infected. Dry goods stores and clothing houses resemble gveiA 
laundries, and every available space is occupied with goods liuu^ 
out to dry. Fortunately the weather is clear, hot and dry for this 
purpose. Those merchants whose stocks were but slightly dam 
aged have done a rushing business, and so have the restauranti 
whose stocks are very limited and frash meats difficult to obtain. 

EXTORTION A RARE EXCEPTION. 

"Extortion is a rare exception, although the supply of food st{ 
hotels and restaurants is limited. This will be overcome in a few 
days, since all the railways terminating here have united upon one 
bridge and are pushing the work night and day with a large force 
reconstructing it, while their tracks are being restored on the islan*:! 
and mainland by large forces, which it is confidently asserted will 
give this stricken city rail communication by Wednesday next. 

^'If this is done it will relieve the existing situation wondei 
full}'. All supplies are now brought in by boat, and these, being, 
principally for the sick and absolutely destitute, are being distrib 
uted with dispatch. The injured and sick, under the thorough 
system inaugurated by the Board of Health and local physicians, 
aided by volunteers from the outside, are receiving every care and 
attention, and are doing as well as could be under the circum- 
stances, which are being improved daily. 

" All churches in the city, either being wrecked or ruined, 
with but one or two exceptions, divine services were in most cases 



VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 175 

suspended. Mass was celebrated at St. Mary's Cathedral this 
morning and was largely attended. Father Kirwin preached a 
feeling sermon, at which he spoke of the awful calamity that had 
befallen the people. After expressing sympathy for the afflicted 
and distressed, he advised not to lose confidence, for back of them 
he humanity of the world stands with relief; to hope for the 
mture and build a more secure, a larger and better city. 

" This young priest has done yeoman service in relieving and 
caring for the wounded, comforting the bereaved and burying the 
dead. Bishop Gallagher, who has also been earnest and active in 
his efforts, is in receipt of a telegram from Archbishop Corrigan, 
of New York, stating that his diocese would see that all Roman 
Catholic orphans sent to his care would be provided for. To-mor- 
row a census of the Roman Catholic people will be begun to ascer- 
tain the number of widows and orphans caused by the storm, and 
the exact number of families that perished. 

"The Grand Lodge Committee of Odd Fellows were here 
to-day and organized local relief committees to look after and caie 
for the sick and destitute of that order, for whom an appeal has 
been sent to the lodges of the United States for relief." 

SOUTHERN PACIFIC AT GALVESTON TO STAY. 

"Galveston, September i6. — The news which was printed 
nere this morning in the shape of a personal telegram from Vice- 
President Huntington, of the Southern Pacific, that that road is 
not to abandon Galveston, has created intense satisfaction, and has 
materially accelerated the movement for the speedy reconstruction 
of the city. 

" Mr. Huntington's telegram was to Mr. A. H. Belo, of the 

Galveston and Dallas News, and read : ' I see it reported that we 

ic to abandon our work at Galveston. Nothing is further from 

our thoughts. We expect to resume work there as soon as we can. 

You can assure the people to that effect.' 

" Dr. W. H. Blount, State Health Officer, to-day printed a 
statement showing that no apprehensions are justified that siclr 
ness will result from the overflow just experienced. He showA 



176 VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 

tliat in 1867, i^ ^^^ midst of the widespread epidemic of yellow 
fever, a severe storm occurred at Galveston in the early days of 
October, resulting in a deposit over a greater portion of the city 
of slimy mud. Not only did no sickness result, but the cyclonic 
disturbance cut short the yellow fever epidemic, and but few cases 
of fever occurred thereafter. In 1875 and 1886, when there were 
severe storms and no overflow, no increase in sickness occurred. 

" Several thousand men are at work clearing away the debris 
on the beach. One hundred and ftfty bodies were discovered in the 
wreckage and burned Friday. No attempt is now being made to 
identify recovered bodies. Indeed, most of them are found naked 
and mutilated beyond recognition. A New York relief train has 
arrived with a number of physicians and nurses and a large supply 
of provisions, which were distributed. Every effort is being made 
by the postal authorities to receive and distribute mail. No city 
delivery has yet been arranged for, and all who expect letters are 
requested to call at the Postoffice. No mail is being collected 
from the letter boxes. 

" In some quarters of the city the Water Works Company is 
serving customers on the second stories. This is taken as indi- 
cating the rapid headway being made in putting the plant again 
in operation. The Street Railway Company suffered a loss of a 
quarter of a million, and its entire system is torn to pieces. An 
effort is to be made temporarily to operate cars with mules. 

ENCROACHMENTS OF THE SEA. 

"The residents of Galveston are plucky in the extreme in 
their determination to rebuild and make Galveston a greater and 
better city than it has ever been before, but in one direction, at 
least, they have suffered a loss that is beyond repair, and that lie-^ 
in the extent of the territory wrested from them by the ston. / 
The waters of the Gulf now cover about 5,300,000 square feet ot ' 
ground that was formerly a part of Galveston. This loss has been 
suffered entirely on the south side of the city, where the finest resi- 
dences were built, facing the gulf, and where land was held at a 
higher valuation than in any other part of the city. 



VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. Ht 

" For tlire« miles along the sliore of the Gulf this choice resi- 
dence property extended, but the shore line was so changed by the 
storm that at low tide the water is 350 feet higher along the entire 
three miles. In the eastern part of the city there are places where 
350 feet is less than the actual amount of ground taken from the 
city. It is a fair estimate, however, for the entire distance. The 
foundation pillars of the Beach Hotel now stand in the water. 
Before the storm there was a beach in front of the hotel site nearl}^ 
400 feet wide. There is no possibility of any of this land being 
reclaimed. 

A MORE HOPEFUL FEELING. 

" A more hopeful feeling is observable everywhere here, and 
the situation is brightening rapidly. The State Health Officer, 
Dr. Blunt, believes that there is now no danger of an epidemic. 
The city Board of Health held a meeting yesterday and adopted a 
resolution voicing the same views. Emergency hospitals have 
been established in every ward for the treatment of the sick and 
wounded. 

" The Ursulin Convent has been converted into a great gen- 
eral hospital for the reception and care of patients who are 
seriously ill, with a full corpse of physicians and trained nurses. 
All public and private hospitals are filled to their capacity with 
sufferers. Medical supplies are still much needed. 

" Banks and some other branches of business have resumed. 
Others are actively preparing to resume. Preparations for re- 
building are already going on in the business part of the city. 
The railways and the wharf front are being rapidly cleaned of 
debris. The telegraph and telephone companies are rushing their 
work. The Western Union has five wires strung to their down- 
town office. The Postal will have some up soon, and the full tele- 
graphic service is expected to be re-established by the close of the 
week. The cable connection has not yet been restored. Business 
on the floor of the Cotton Exchange will not be re-established for 
three weeks. The Exchange Building was partly unroofed by the 
storm. 

12 



178 VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 

"Mauy dead are reported as being yet iinburied, especially in 
the extreme west part of the city. The interment and cremation 
of human bodies and the carcasses of animals is being vigorously 
prosecuted. Only about six houses remain between South Galves- 
ton and the city limits. Of probably looo persons living down 
the island, at least one-third were lost. There are 200 bodies on 
the beach between the Mott place and the city limits. Eighteen 
persons in this neighborhood got together and began burying the 
dead yesterday. They are out of provisions. 

" Daily papers and illustrated papers have been most energetic 
in taking photographs of the Galveston disaster. The town is 
under military law, and the people are not inclined to brook photog^ 
raphers. Three photographers who ventured out yesterday had 
their instruments smashed and themselves pressed into service 
burying dead bodies. 

'* So much progress has been made here towards the rehabili- 
tation of Galveston, and so harmoniously are the various forces 
working, that General McKibben, who was ordered here with his 
staff to assist the authorities, has decided that his presence is ito 
longer necessary, and he has made arrangements to leave for 
Houston. After having largely assisted in the restoration of local 
confidence, the withdrawal of General McKibben is taken to mean 
that little is to be done here but to take care of the distressed until 
normal business conditions have been resumed. In this connection 
the information was made public through the local representatives 
of the Federal authorites yesterday that the War Department will 
undertake as soon as possible the restoration of its property at this 
point. 

RAILROAD CAPITAL TO BE EMPLOYED. 

* ' Dispatches quoting Eastern financiers on the future of Gal- 
-'■eston are read with much interest. The idea, however, that the 
status of the city will be changed finds no local adherents. The 
various railroads entering here have determined to assist the 
citizens of Galveston to the full extent of their ability in rebuilding 
the city. Colonel ly. J. Polk of the Santa Fe has received a ve^v 



VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 179 

enthusiastic and encouraging message from the headquarters of the 
road, declaring confidence in Galveston, urging the business com- 
munity to proceed at once to the work of reconstruction, and 
promising every help in their power. As a result of the receipt of 
the message, Colonel Polk said yesterday : 

" The railroad interests have decided to combine their forces 
in order to rebuild as quickly as possible a bridge from Virginia 
Point to Galveston. A large number of men will go to work in the 
morning with this end in view. You may say to the country that in 
six da3^s a bridge will have been built, and trains will be running- 
over it. I have had a consultation with the wharf interests, and 
they have promised us that they will be prepared to handle ingoing 
and outgoing shipments by the time the bridge is finished. The 
bridge we will build will be of substantial but temporary character. 
We will subsequently replace it with a more enduring structure. 
There is no reason why Galveston ought not commercially to 
resume normal conditions in ten days." 

MEDICAL COLLEGE SHATTERED. 

'Colonel Prather, President of the Board of Regents of the 
Medical College here, and Colonel Breckinridge, a member of the 
Board, were among the late arrivals yesterday. They met 
General McKibben, and were driven to the institution. They 
found the building in a badly shattered condition, but on their re- 
turn it was announced that the college would be immediately re- 
constructed by private beneficence if the State was unable to beat 
the cost. 

" Large gangs have been at work in the business district, and 
splendid progress in clearing away debris has been made. The 
^street car company has a large force of men at work cutting wires, 
;-emoving obstructions, and putting their track in condition." 

The News correspondent telegraphs as follows from Houston : 
"Inquiries as to the loss of life and property continue to pour in. 
The list will never be known. There have been already handled 
on the Galveston island, and along the bay shores of the mainland 
opposite the island, about 4000 corpses. The long stretch of debrij; 



180 VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 

along tlie beacli and the western part of the island has not yet 
been heard from. The prairies of the mainland over which the 
waters rushed have also their tales to tell. I should say, after in- 
vestigation, that a conservative estimate of the loss of life in Gal- 
veston would be 8000. The names of thousands of victims will 
never be known. They have simply passed out of existence. As 
to the property loss, it is hard to make an estimate. Colonel 
Lowes's estimate of $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 is conservative." 

GALVESTON'S DISTRESSING APPEAL RENEWED. 

Austin, Tex., September 15. — Governor Sayers last night 
received the following official report from Mayor Jones, of Galves- 
ton, as to conditions there : 

" Hon. Joseph D. Sayers, Governor : After the fullest possi- 
ble investigation here we feel justiiied in saying to you, and 
through you to the American people, that no such disaster has 
overtaken any community or section in the history of our country. 
The loss of life is appalling, and can never be accurately deter- 
mined. It is estimated at 5000 to 8000 people. There is not a 
home in Galveston that has not been injured, while thousands 
have been destroyed. The property loss represents accumulations 
of sixty years, and more millions than can be safely stated. Under 
these conditions, with 10,000 people homeless and destitute, with 
the entire population under a stress and strain difficult to realize, 
we appeal directly in the hour of our great emergency to the sym- 
pathy and aid of mankind. Walter Jones, Mayor." 

GREAT ANXIETY FOR FRIENDS. 

Memphis, Tenn., September 15. — The following telegram from 
Mayor Jones, of Galveston, was received here to-day : 

" To the Associated Press, Memphis, Tenn. : I am in receipt 
of thousands of telegrams offering assistance and inquiring about 
absent friends and relatives. All of these have been promptly 
answered, but restricted communication has probably served to 
cause delay in transmission and delivery. The telegraphic com- 
panies are doing all in their power to restore prompt commuuica- 



VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 181 

tion with the outside world, and have already partially succeeded, 
and I am assured that within the next few days normal conditions 
with reference to telegraphic communication will prevail. 

"The situation in Galveston has been in most instances ac- 
curately reported, and the distress of the people is great. Galves- 
ton and vicinity need at once the assistance of all people. Remit- 
tances of money should be made to John Sealy, Treasurer Relief 
Committee, acknowledgment of which will be made. 

"Walter C. Jones, Mayor." 

DISTRESS AT ALVIN. 

Houston, Texas, September 15. — The following statement and 
appeal came from R. W. King, of Alvin, Texas : 

"I arrived in Alvin from Dallas, and M^as astonished and 
bewildered by the sight of devastation on every side. Ninety- 
five per cent, of the houses in this vicinity are in ruins, leaving 
6,000 people absolutely destitute. Everything in the way of crops 
is destroyed, and unless there is speedy relief there will be exceed- 
ingl)^ great suffering. 

" The people need and must have assistance. Need money to 
rebuild their homes and buy stock and implements. They need 
food — flour, bacon, corn. They must have seeds for their gardens, 
so as to be able to do something for themselves very soon. Cloth- 
ing is badly needed. Hundreds of women and children are with- 
out a change, and are already suffering. Some better idea may be 
had of the distress when it is known that box-cars are being im- 
provised as houses and hay as bedding. 

" Only fourteen houses in the town of Alvin are standing on 
''their foundations, and they are badly damaged. While the great 
sympathetic heart of this grand Nation is responding so generously 
for the stricken city of Galveston, it should be remembered also 
that the smaller towns — where the same condition of total wreck 
exists, though miraculoiisly with smaller loss of life — need imme- 
diate help from a liberal people." 

The situation on Saturday, the 15th, is told in the following 
graphic description : 



J 82 VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 

" Under tlie firm rule of the military authorities, affairs in 
Galveston are rapidly assuming a more cheerful aspect. The 
forces of law and order are crystallizing every hour, and now that 
the people realize that there is definite authority to which they can 
appeal they are going to work systematically to renovate the cit}^ 
and prevent any possibility of epidemic. The force engaged in 
burying the dead and clearing up the city has increased steadily 
until now twenty-five hundred men are pushing the work. 

"Adjutant-General Scurry holds the town fast with a strong 
grip. He is compelling all men whose services can be spared from 
public business to join the forces at the work in the streets. 

" The burial of the dead goes steadily on. All the corpses in 
the open, along the shores or near the wreckage, have been sunk 
in the gulf or burned in the streets. The labor of clearing away 
the debris in search of bodies began at Thirtieth street and avenue 
O, one of the worst wrecked parts of the town. Two hundred men 
were put at work, and in thirty minutes fifty corpses were found 
within a space thirty yards square. Whole families lay dead piled 
in indescribable confusion. 

OLD AND YOUNG CRUSHED TOGETHER. 

"Old and young crushed by the falling timbers, were one by 
one dragged from debris six to twenty feet deep. Aged fathers 
were clinging to more robust forms ; children clutching to mother's 
skirts, young girls with their arms around brothers, mothers clasp- 
ing babes to their bosoms. These were the melancholy sights 
seen by those digging among the ruins. In dozens and scores the 
bodies were turned up by pich and shovel, rake and axe. Away 
to the left the wreckage stretched two miles to Seventh street ; to 
the right, a mile to Fortieth street down town. 

"Popular sentiment insists that the west end be burned, but 
t*he military authorities have hesitated to give the order. Father 
Kerwin and Captain Morrissey urge that the wreckage be fired at 
once, and it will probably be done. 

" Men are making ready to apply the torch. Fire engines are 
out on the beach. A road runs through the wreckage separating 



VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 183 

it from houses not wholly destroyed. When water i- inamng 
freely in the mains the fire will be started. Fires are 'turning at 
intervals all along the beach over the gulf front, raising clouds of 
smoke, which stretches far along the coast. 

"The streets are clearing rapidly; many in the centre of the 
town are to-day readily passable. Along the Bay and Gulf fronts. 
however, the wreckage still chokes the streets. Sanitary conditiouL^ 
are steadily improving. Physicians do not disguise the danger to 
the city, but do not expect an epidemic. Five of them declared 
to-day that if the refuse was completely burned, the streets were 
thoroughly disinfected and the sewers quickly put in order, there 
would be no pestilence. 

GREAT EXODUS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 

" Women and children are leaving in large numbers. They 
include all classes and conditions. In groups and sometimes in 
long lines they pass down Tremont street on the way to the boat 
bound for Texas City. Many are going never to return, poorly 
and scantily clad, with handkerchiefs for hats, and all their worldly 
goods stuffed into pillow-cases. 

"The man who has no property or relatives in Galveston i^ 
leaving for good. The future of Galveston depends upon whether 
or not the town can retain its shipping. If Galveston can kecip her 
prestige as a port her revival is assured. All those who have 
helped to make Galveston what it was are certain that it will con- 
tinue to be the great port of the Southwest. Not a man in town 
who has any property will desert the city. Progressive citizens 
have been especially cheered by the news that the English shippers 
will continue to patronize the port and by the generous gift of 
$5000 from R. P. Houston, member of the English Parliament and 
head of the shipping firm of R. P. Houston & Co., of Liverpool' 
and London. This contribution came in response to the news that 
one of the Houston steamers, the Hilarius, was stranded on the 
Pelican Island. 

"Business men know that if Galveston should go down its 
shipping would promptly be transferred to New Orleans. But it is 



184 VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 

tlie glory of the people of New Orleans that since the storm they 
have said not a word against the rebuilding of this city, but have 
generously and nobly responded to the appeals for Galveston's 
sufferers. 

'*In spite of any ambition of rival ports, in spite of the tim- 
idity of women and some men, the people of Galveston, patiently 
and soberly, with loyalty and courage, are determined to rebuild on 
4;he ruins of this once beautiful city a metropolis that shall prosper 
and endure. They are determined to do this, in spite of the pos- 
sibility that their homes and industries may again be wrecked by 
storm. If you ask them why, they will tell you, " No community 
is immune from disasters of this kind. It merely happened that 
Galveston was in the path of the storm." And then they will ;^o 
back to burying their dead. 

"Captain Randall, of the steamship Comeno, which has ar- 
rived from New Orleans, reports that coming up the bay he saw a 
great many human corpses, and that the banks of Pelican Island 
were strewn with the dead. Pelican Island is six miles from 
Galveston. 

BRIDGE AND TRAIN IN SIX DAYS. 

" The various railroads entering the city are determined to 
assist to the full extent of their ability in rebuilding the city. 
Colonel L. J. Polk, of the Santa Fe, has received a very encour- 
aging message from the headquarters of his road, declaring confi- 
dence in Galveston, and urging the business community to push 
forward the work of reconstruction. Colonel Polk said in an inter- 
view: 

" The railroad interests have decided to combine their forces in 
order to rebuild as quickly as possible a bridge from Virginia Point 
to Galveston. A large number of men will go to work with this 
end in view. You may say to the country that in six days a 
bridge will have been built and trains running over it. I have had 
a consultation with the wharf interests, and they have promised 
us that they will be prepared to handle ingoing and outgoing ship- 
ments by the time the bridge is finished. The bridge we shall 



I 



VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. LS5 

build will be substantial, but of temporary character. We shall 
subsequently replace it with a more enduring structure. There is 
no reason why Galveston ought not to resume normal commercial 
conditions in ten days. 

" So much progress has been made toward the rehabilitation 
! of the city, and so harmoniously are the various working forces 
working that General McKibben, who was ordered here with hi? 
staff to assist the authorities, has decided that his presence is no 
longer necessary, and he has made arrangements to leave for 
Houston. 

" The hiding place of three ghouls was discovered in a beached 
dredge formerly used by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. 
Three satchels, filled with jewelry and money, were seized. The 
men, who are whites, will probably be shot. 

BANKS ASK MILLION DOLLAR LOAN. ' 

"The cashier of the Island City Bank left the city last night 
for Houston. He carried with him a petition from the Associated 
Galveston Banks begging the Houston bankers to advance them 
$1,000,000. By an agreement made among the Galveston banks, 
no check for more than $25 is now honored. It is impossible foT 
nine out of ten Galveston merchants to meet any promissory notes 
that are about to fall due, and if assistance is not obtained the mcr 
chants, as well as the banks, must go down. 

" Every time a schooner or a catboat was filled to its safety 
limit with human freight, and the way was barred, women would 
gesticulate wildly and in choking voice implore even standing 
room. Nime hundred refugees left the city yesterday, and 10,000 
'more would have left to-day if facilities were at hand." 

Excellent work in saving lives during the hurricane at Gal- 
veston was done by the officers and crew of the revenue cutter Gal- 
veston, which was stationed at that port. 

The first mail through from the stricken city reached Wash- 
ington on the 15th, and brought two letters from Chief Engineer 
W. H. Whitaker of the Galveston. Under date of September 9, 
he says : 



186 VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 

"All the sheds on the wharves must have been levelled to the 
ground, or nearly so. I do not think there is a house that has not 
been more or less damaged or blown to the ground. While the 
wind was blowing over sixty miles an hour we sent out a boat with 
a rescuing party to row up one of the streets. The first trip they 
succeeded in saving thirteen women and children, and brought 
, them back to the vessel in safety. 

" It was useless to attempt to row the boat against the terrific 
vvind, and, as the water was at that time not over a man's head in 
the streets, a rope would be sent out to the nearest telegraph pole, 
and by that means the boat could be hauled along from pole to 
'pole. This [was accomplished only by the most herculean efforts 
on the part of the men who led out the rope, but between swim- 
ming, walking and floundering along in the teeth of the gale the 
rope would finally be made fast. 

FACING THE FIERCE BLASTS OF THE STORM. 

" Then it was all that the crew of one officer and seven men 
could do to pull the boat against the fierce blasts of the cyclone. 
By working all Saturday afternoon and evening and up to one 
o'clock Sunday morning the brave boys succeeded in rescuing 
thirty-four men, women and children, whom they put in a place of 
safety and provided with enough provisions for their immediate 
needs. Finally, on account of the darkness, the increasing vio- 
lence of the storm and the vast amount of wreckage in the streets, 
the rescuing party was reluctantly compelled to return to the vessel. 

" On board the ship it was a period of intense anxiety for all 
hands. No one slept, and it was only by the almost superhuman 
efforts of the officers and crew that we rode out the hurricane in 
safety. With the exception of the carrying away of the port for- 
,ward rigging and the smashing of all the windows and skylights, 
the vessel sustained no serious injury. Not a single person on 
board was injured in any way." 

Under date of September 1 1 the same officer writes : " We 
think there have been 5000 lives lost. I cannot begin to tell the 
number of houses blown down or damage done. Our new distiller, 



VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 187 

whicli came down on the New York steamer, lias been set up on 
deck, and we are thus enabled to relieve much suffering by supply- 
ing drinking water to the many who call on us for relief. We 
have also furnished as much food to the needy as we can possibly 
spare. 

"All that can be thought of now is the disposing of the dead. 
Already one steamer load and four barge loads have been sent out 
CO sea. During the height of the hurricane the tide rose seven or 
eight feet above the usual high water mark and three feet over the 
wharves. 

"There are five hundred men working to repair the city water 
works and in the meantime we are furnishing all the water we can 
possibly distil to the sufferers and aiding them in such other ways 
as lie in our power." 

With a view to the restoration of the fortifications in the har- 
bor of Galveston, General Wilson, chief of engineers, organized a 
Board of engineer officers, consisting of Colonel Henry M. Robert, 
stationed in New York ; Major Henry M. Adams, stationed in New 
Orleans ; Captain Charles H. Riche, stationed in Galveston, and 
Captain Edgar Jadwin, stationed in New York, tc meet in Galves- 
ton at the call of the senior officer about October 20. 

RESTORATION OF PUBLIC WORKS. 

The Board is instructed to make a careful examination of tne 
jetties and fortifications of Galveston and to report to the Chief of 
Engineers what action is necessary for the repair and restoration 
of the fortifications and harbor works. 

Acting Secretary of War Meiklejohn has received a telegram 
from Mayor Jones, of Galveston, saying : "The people of the city 
of Galveston desire to return to you their heartfelt thanks for your 
assi.'^tance in their hour of trouble and affliction." 

A despatch also was received from General McKibben saying ' 
that there are plenty of doctors in Galveston, but that disinfectantsi 
are badly needed. 

"Washington, September 15. — In response to the request of 
your journal concerning the situation in Galveston, I have a report 



188 VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 

from Passed Assistant Surgeon Werteiibaker, who was directed to 
go from liis station in New Orleans to Galveston, practically con- 
firming the press reports as to the effect of the storm and condi- 
tions existing. He says : 

"'City is wrecked. Press reports not exaggerated. Deaths 
estimated at 5000. Bodies being cremated as fast as found. Many 
bodies under debris not yet removed. Water supply limited. 
Very scarce now, but supplies coming in rapidly. The only means 
of communication is by railroad to Texas City, thence by boat, or 
by boal from Houston.' 

"Dr. Wertenbaker is at Houston and Surgeon Peckham and 
Acting Assistant Surgeon Lea Hume are giving all the aid posM- 
ble in Galveston. I do not apprehend an outbreak of any epi- 
demic of disease as a result of the storm. The law and regulations 
are ample to meet the emergenc}^ 

" There is danger of sickness caused by unusual exposure and 
deprivation of food and water, but the people of Galveston and the 
Governor and other officials of the State and city appear to be 
thoroughly alive to the necessities of the situation. Their dispo- 
sal of bodies by cremation is certainly a wise measure, and I am 
convinced that the native energy of the people, supplemented by 
the tents and rations furnished by the War Department, and the 
contributions which have been and are flowing in from all parts 
of the country, will obviate the outbreak of widespread disease. 

"Walter Wyman, 

; " Supervising Surgeon General Marine Hospital Service." 

I' 

WHOLE FAMILIES LOST. 

'Austin, Texas, Saturday. — Imagine, if you can, fifty thou- 
sand persons, many of them without clothing, all of them in imme- 
diate need of food and drink ; motherless and fatherless children, 
men who have lost their families, — men, women and children all 
dazed from one of the greatest calamities of the time, and you can 
have some slight idea of the conditioi s existing at Galveston and 
all over the countr}'- along the Gulf contiguous to the storm centre 
of last Saturday and Sunday. 



VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 189 

"The most harrowing reports have been brought to Governor 
Sayers by dozens of relief committees, which have been pouring in 
here from all the cities along the coast pleading for assistance. In 
response to an invitation from the Governor a special committee of 
Galveston citizens, headed by Major Skinner, of the Galveston 
Cotton Exchange, arrived for consultation with Governor Sayers. 

VAST AMOUNT OF WORK TO BE DONE. 

"The Relief Committee reported to the Governor that the city 
authorities would prefer that the city remain under the command'" 
of State Adjutant-General Scurry for the time being at least; thai 
he not only be allowed to superintend the patrolling of the city, but 
that he be placed in charge of the sanitary work as well, and that 
he be allowed to hire 2000 laborers from other portions of the State, 
as the laborers in Galveston had their own homes to look after. 

" Governor Sayers will not only secure the importation of 2000 
outside laborers for sanitary work, but he will recognize any drafts 
made by Chairman Seeley, of the local Galveston Relief Committee, 
for such moneys as he may want from time to time, and in such 
quantities as are necessary, the same to be expended under the ex- 
clusive control of the chairman and the local Finance Committee 
of Galveston. 

"In addition to the Galveston plea for assistance, several relief 
committees from other points were entertained by the Governor. 
The one from Velasco, following the Galveston committee, stated that 
there were 2000 destitute there, Alvin reported 8000 in the neigh- 
borhood. The Columbia District reported 2500, and several other 
towns reported in proportion. Fort Bend County coming with a 
report of some 15,000 in that county alone. 

"In view of these reports Governor Sayers ordered bacon and 
flour to be sent to Galveston, Richmond, Fort Bend, Angleton, 
Velasco and Alvin in quantities ranging from 200,000 pounds of 
flour and 100,000 pounds of bacon for Galveston, to 5000 pounds of 
the former and 20,000 pounds of the latter as an emergency supply 
for Alvin. More supplies will follow at once." 

Says one of our great newspapers : 



190 VAST ARMY OF HELPLESS VICTIMS. 

" Galveston is showing tlie same splendid courage as Cliicago 
thirty years ago, before a less dire calamity, and the country as a 
whole is displaying the same liberality. The Galveston News 
undoubtedly speaks for the city and the citizens in declaring that 
the city will be rebuilt and protected. Its channel, as one slight 
recompense, has been deepened to thirty feet. There remains its 
protection by sea walls, and here the General Government might 
well deal liberally with the stricken city. Whatever Galveston 
port needs to protect and prevent the city from another tidal wave 
ought, and we do not doubt will, be the liberal care of Congress next 
winter. 

"Much more remains. The insurance companies rebuilt 
Chicago, and furnished the city with working building capital. 
Galveston has uo such resource. Like Johnstown the city has to 
be rebuilt and the houses refitted. In the great flood of 1889 this 
was rendered possible because all the great flood of relief was man- 
aged, methodized and economically directed by the Johnstown 
Relief Commission, acting for the State. This prevented waste, 
gathered together all aid and successfully rebuilt, refurnished and 
re-equipped the destroyed homes. 

" The Galveston disaster needs a like body. Food and shelter 
will before long be provided. This is but a beginning. Contribu- 
tions are pouring out all over the country and organized work lias 
not yet begun. Any sum really needed by Galveston can be raised 
if it is asked by an authoritative body, able to speak definitely and 
with precision of the losses sustained by churches, hospitals, insti- 
tutions and individuals, and competent to distribute relief with 
ef&ciency and economy. If Texas and Galveston put such a bod}'- 
before the country in complete control the desultoiy giving already 
bejun will be succeeded by organized, syBK<:'Jidth contributions 
equal to the great need, great as it is." 



CHAP^IKK iS. 

•yetaiis ot inc Overwhelming Tragedy — The Whole City 

Caught in the Death-Trap — Personal Experiences 

of Those Who Escaped — First Reports 

More Than Confirmed. 

rHB centre of the West Indian hurricane, which had been pre- 
dicted for several days, struck Galveston at 9 o'clock Satur- 
day morning. At that hour the wind was in the north and the 
waters of the bay were rising rapidly. The Gulf was also turbu- 
lent, and the water, forced in by the tropical storm, rolled up the 
beach and gradually swept inland. About 2 o'clock P. M. the 
wind was rising rapidly, constantly veering, but settling towards 
the east and coming in fitful jerks and puffs, which loosened 
awnings, cornices, slated roofs and sent the fragments flying in 
the air. 

The waters of the bay continued rising and creeping ashore, 
mingled with the waters from the clouds, and filled the down- 
town streets and invaded stores. Despite the danger from flying 
missiles, as the afternoon wore on, men ventured out in the streets 
in hacks, in wagons, in boats and on foot, some anxious to get 
home to their families, some bent on errands of mercy, and others 
animated by no purpose save bravado. 

Gaining in velocity, the wind changed to the northeast, then 
to the east, and the waters rose until they covered the city. The 
wind howled frightfully around the buildings, tearing off 
cornices and ripping off roofs. The wooden paving blocks rose 
, from their places in the streets and floated off" in great sectiouFi 
down the streets. 

At 6.30 o'clock the wind had shifted to the southeast, still 

increasing in velocity. At that hour the wind gauge on the roof 

of the United States Weather Bureau registered eighty-four miles 

an hour then blew away. Still the wind blew harder and 

harder and even the most fortunate houses lost all or a part 

1.91 



192 DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 

of their coverings. The storm reached its height at about 8.30 
o'clock, At 9 o'clock the wind began subsiding and the waters to 
recede. 

But the fury of the storm had not been spent until well into 
Sunday morning. At i o'clock the water had fallen until the 
streets were inundated no more than they would be by a big 
rain. Sunday morning broke clear, and the sun shone 
brightly on a scene of wreck and ruin, which verily beggars 
description. 

The streets were piled with debris, in many places several ; 
feet high. Buildings were shorn of roofs, cornices, chimneys and 
windows. Stocks of goods were damaged by floods from below and 
rain from above. But it was the wind which had wrought the 
greatest havoc in every respect. The damage from waters of the 
bay was inconsequential when compared with that from wind. 
The eastern part of the city received the full force of the storm 
and su^ered most, although no section escaped serious injury. 

FRANTIC PEOPLE HUNTING RELATIVES 

All along the beach for about four blocks back scarcely a 
residence was left. The beach district was shorn of habitationsL 
Back of that houses and timbers piled up, crushing other build- 
ings which lay in their path. Men and women walked through 
the slimy mud that overspread the streets, homeless. Men and 
women rushed around frantic, hunting their relatives. Dead and 
wounded men, women and children lay around waiting the com- 
ing of the volunteer corps organized to remove the bodies to 
improvised morgues and hospitals. There was no thought of 
property damage ; those who had escaped with their families, los- 
ing all else, felt satisfied and thanked their Maker. 

Mr. A. V. Kellogg, a civil engineer in the employ of thej 
Right of Way Department of the Houston and Texas Central 
Railroad in Houston, went down to Galveston Saturday morning 
on company business, leaving on the Galveston, Houston and 
Henderson train which departs from Houston at 9.45. Mr. 
Kellogg had an interesting tale of his experiences getting into 



DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 193 

Galveston, of the storm and its effects and how he managed to get 
out of the city and into Houston again. 

" When we crossed the bridge over Galveston Bay going to 
Galveston, said Mr. Kellogg, the water had reached an elevation 
equal to the bottom of the caps of the pile bents, or two feet below 
the level of the track. After crossing the bridge and reaching a 
point some two miles beyond we were stopped by reason of the 
washout of the track ahead and were compelled to wait one hour 
for a relief train to come out on the Galveston, Houston and Hen- 
derson track. During this period of one hour the water rose a 
foot and a half, running over the rails of the track. 

" The relief train signaled us to back up a half mile to higher 
ground, where the passengers were transferred, the train crew 
leaving with the passengers and going on the relief train. The 
water had reached an elevation of eight or ten inches above the 
Galveston, Houston and Henderson track and was flowing in a 
westward direction at a terrific speed. The train crew were com- 
pelled to wade ahead of the engine and dislodge driftwood from 
the track. At 1.15 we arrived at the Santa Fe union depot. At 
that period of the day the wind was increasing and had then 
reached a velocity of about thirty-five miles an hour. 

THE HOTEL FLOODED. 

" After arriving at Galveston I immediately went to the Tre- 
mont Hotel, where I remained the balance of the day and during 
the night. At 5:30 the water had begun to creep into the rotunda 
of the hotel, and by 8 o'clock it was twenty-six inches above the 
floor of the hotel, or about six and one-half feet above the street 
level. The front windows of the hotel were blown in between the 
hours of 5 and 8. The roof was blown off and the skylights over the' 
rotunda fell in and fell through, crashing on the floor below. The 
refugees began to come into the hotel between 5:30 and 8 o'clock 
until at least 800 or 1,000 persons had sought safety there. The 
floors were strewn with people all during the night. 

*' Manager George Korst and the employes of the hotel did 
everything in their power to help the sufferers from the effects of 

13 



194 DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 

the storm and to give tliem shelter. At 5 o'clock the wind was 
blowing from the northeast at a velocity of about forty-five miles 
an hour, and by 9 o'clock it had reached the climax, the velocity 
then being fully 100 miles. The vibration of the hotel was not 
unlike that of a boxcar in motion. I tried to sleep that night, but 
there was so much noise and confusion from the crashing of build- 
ings that I didn't get much rest. 

STREET SIGHTS WERE APPALLING. 

" I arose early Sunday morning. The sights in the streets 
were simply appalling. The water on Tremont street had lowered 
some eight feet from the high water mark, leaving the pavement 
clear from two blocks north and six or seven blocks south of the 
Tremont Hotel. The streets were full of debris, the wires were 
all down and the buildings were in a very much damaged condi- 
tion. Every building in the business district was damaged to 
some extent but with one or two exceptions, and those, the Levy 
Building, corner of Tremont and Market, and the Union Depot, 
both of which remained intact and went through the storm without 
a scratch. 

" The refugees came pouring down into the heart of the city, 
many of them had but little clothing, and scores of them were 
almost naked. 

They were homeless without food or drink, a great many had 
lost their all and were really in destitute circumstances. Mayor 
Jones issued a call for a mass meeting, which was held Sunday 
morning at 9 o'clock and was attended by a large number of 
prominent citizens. Steps were taken to furnish provisions and 
relieve the suffering of the refugees and to bury the dead. 

" Early in the morning it was learned that the water supply 
had been cut off for some unknown reason. I presume that it 
was caused by the English ship which was blown up against the 
bridges, cutting the pipes. At all events, the city is without 
water, and something should be done by the citizens of Houston 
to relieve this situation. People who had depended on cisterns, 
of course, had their resources swept away, and there are but few 



DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 195 

large reservoirs of rain water to be found in the business 
district. 

"The scene on the docks was a terrible one. The small 
working fleet and the larger schooners were washed over the 
docks and railroad tracks in frightful confusion. The Mallory 
docks were demolished. The elevators were torn in shreds. 
Three ocean liners were anchored off the docks and seemed to be 
in good condition. The damage to the shipping interests is 
simply immense, the Huntington improvement being entirely 
swept away. 

FRIGHTFUL CONFUSION EVERYWHERE. 

" I tried to get out of the town as quick as I could, and suc- 
jeeded in securing passage on the first sloop which sailed, which 
happened to be the 'Annie Jane,' Captain Thomas Willoughby, 
who afterward proved to be an excellent sailor. We sailed from 
the Twenty-second street slip at ii o'clock, with seven souls 
aboard. When we got outside the harbor we found it was blowing 
a terrific gale and the sea running very high. Under three reefs 
and the peak down we set our course for North Galveston. As 
we passed Pelican Flats we could see the English steamer 
anchored off over toward where the railroad bridge should be, and 
came to the conclusion that she had evidently broken the water 
mains and cut the supply off from the city. 

"Another ocean liner could be seen off the shore of Texas 
City, in what would seem to have been about two feet of water in 
normal tide. We passed within a few hundred yards of where 
the Half-moon light house once stood, but could see no evidence 
of the light house, it being completely washed away. The waters 
,of the bay were strewn with hundreds of carcasses of dead ani- 
mals. We had a very hazardous passage, going against a five 
mile tide running out, but managed to reach North Galveston 
at 1.35. 

"At North Galveston we found that a tidal wave had crossed 
the peninsula, carrying destruction in its path. The factor}'- 
building and the opera house were completely blown down and 



1!)(; DHTAILS ol' nil'. OVI'.KVVI I I.I.M 1 N( ; IKACI'.DY. 

olluT l)Mil(liiii;s (li'Slr<)\cMl. Wliilc ihrvr wciv no dcMtlis ivi)()rtcd 
;il Nttilh (lalvi'Sloii, lluic wvw many 'lardsliips c-ndnriHl hytliosc 
who Rallied with tlu- cK'nirnls." 

Dr. 1. M.C'linc, (In- tliicfor (In- wi-utluT bnroan :iL (lulvcston, 
livc(l on llu- sotilli ,si(li* of Avcnnt- O, hclwrfn 'rwrnly iMftli and 
'Pwt-nl y-J^i xt h .sIhhIs, in a stronv;ly hnill IVanu' lionsr. It stood 
nnlil lionsi'S all aronnd it had iM)nc (h)vvn, and at hisl it had lo 
y^ivc' nncUr thr prc'ssnrc (d" llu- wind and waves and other lionscs 
that w'vw thrown av'.ainst it, and witli it ahont forty people went 
down, t wo thiids of whom were drowned, anioni; the nnniber his 
wile. 'Pile lirst llooi" was idevatid above the hij;h water mark of 
iSys, and Dr. Cline Ihonj^h be was safe there. 

lie left his oil'iee and went to his home and family early in the 

afti-rnoon. 'Vhv olliee telephone had been in nse nearly all the 

morninj; Rivini; warnini; to the people who ealled up from 

«•:< posed i)oints alon_n the l)eaeh to ask al)out the outlook. One man 

was poslc(l at tin- tiKphonc' nearly every minute of the time, and 

lo raidi iuiiniiy the answer was sent ovi'ithi- wire, "The worst is 

not oxi-r \rl." 

^.1V1^S SAVKl) BY FLIGHT. 

IJaronuMer iiadinv;s of this tropieal terroi' had not bi-en taken 
siui-e it left llavana and Ki-y West, h)i- the reason that it was 
travelling;- aeross t lu> _i;ulf and aflci' baiometer readini^s ei)uld have 
l)een taken nearer (lalveston and re])orted here eonimunii-atiou 
was shut off. ImiI the wi-alluM bnri-an kui-w the worst was not 
ovei", and so pet haps thousands alonv; the bi-aeh had warniui; and 
souj'ht safet y in tlu> eiiilii- of the island lu'fore the storm broke 
here in its fury. This partly aeeounts for so many pet)ple who 
lived ri^ht on the l)eaeh, whole families in iustanees, l)eiuv;- saved, 
jK'opK- who hist everylhini; but who saved their lives, wliile others 
wlu) lived in stroui;er bnildini;s nearer in, some of whom had ^ 
passed throui;h the 1S75 and other storms thou}>h of eourse tliey 
eould weather it, and thus were h)st. 

When the waters rushed into lb. Cliut-'s home and bej;an lo 
rise rapidl\ he realized his i)eril, but it was then too late to eseape. 
His brotlur, also oi' tlu- weather bunau, Mr. Joe Cline, eame to 



DETAILS OF THE OVERWHICLMING TRAGEDY. 197 

his rescue to help save the family or perish with them. Standing 
on his brother's front porch Mr. Cline motioned to the neighbors 
on the opposite side of the street to go north, meaning to^et out, 
for no voice could be heard across the street in the teeth of that 
terrible northeaster. 

This was the last warning that was given, and then the chiet 
of the Weather Bureau, while with his devoted brother and their 
loved ones disappeared within their own homes to await their 
doom. It was not many hours coming. Higher and higher the 
water rose, and they mounted the second floor till the waves 
mounted higher, and buildings about them crashed and fell, adding 
to the number of inmates of the houses others who had been 
driven out and were seeking safety. 

Finally, the building gave way beneath the pressure of the 
wreckage behind it. The Cline family was in the room and had 
resolved to go by threes. Dr. Cline had with him Mrs. Cline and 
their little 6-year-old girl, Esther. His brother, Joe, took charge 
of the two older girls. As the house went over Mr. Joe Cline 
and his charges were thrown through a window which the}^ were 
near and they caught on the roof A dresser pushed Dr. Cline 
and his wife against the mantle and his little one was knocked 
from his left arm. They were all pinioned beneath the roof 

FOUND IT WAS THE FOOT OF HIS BABY. 

Dr. Cline, holding to his wife, prepared for death, but throw- 
ing his left hand above his head, felt something strike his hand 
He grabbed the object and it proved to be one foot of his bab> 
♦that had been knocked from his grasp when the roof fell in. The 
water had driven her little body to the surface through an open- 
ing, which, although in an almost dying condition, he realized. 
By some means — he doesn't know how — he was released from the 
timbers that held him down, and he, too, was sent up by the rush 
of water to the surface. With his feet and arms he reached for 
his wife, who had been torn from his grasp, but he could not find 
her, and so she perished. Their experience in drifting on debris 
was that of hundreds of others. For hours they were tosseJl 



198 DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 

about on the raging sea. Part of the time they think they were 
far out in the Gulf. They know they were out of sight of lights 
and buildings miich of the time. 

Mr. William Blair, a member of the Screwmen's Association, 
with a party of twelve, took in what he said to be the first boat 
that carried news from the mainland. The trip this party made 
was one of the most heroic on record. Mr. Blair said : 

ONE LONE HOUSE STANDING. 

" We were caught in Houston in the storm, and Simday 
morning as soon as the storm abated we resolved to get to our 
families and friends in Galveston, if such a thing was possible. 
A party of twelve of us left Houston on a Southern Pacific train. 
We got as far as Seabrook and there we found everything washed 
away, and dead bodies here and there. One lone house was 
standing. Clear Creek bridge had been washed away and the 
railroad track was turned over. We went back to Houston and 
waited there till 4.40 P. M., and took the Galveston, Houston 
and Henderson regular train and succeeded in getting as far as 
Lamarque. 

"The whole country was under water, but we decided to get 
to Galveston any way that night. We pulled out towards Virginia 
Point, wading in water up to our necks, some times swimming. 
At one place it got so deep that we got a lot of drift together and 
constructed a sort of a raft and ferried over the places. I was 
about to forget to tell you that one of our part}^ was a woman, a 
Miss Beach. She had a sick sister in Galveston at the infirmary 
and she had determined to get to her if possible. That brave and 
fearless women kept up with the men wading and swimming, and 
while others lagged and some dropped out along the way, she 
never once faltered, and I have never before seen her equal for 
courage and determination. 

"There were six of us when we got to Virginia Point, others 
had turned out toward Texas City. We got as near to Virginia 
Point as we could, we found three railroad engines there, one of 
them turned over. There were some cars scattered along the 



DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 195 

track and iu one caboose were some injured people. A portion of 
our party stopped there to do what they could for them. 

" We found dead bodies all along the track, three and four 
in a bunch, all women and children with perhaps the single 
exception of one man. These bodies were strewn from the Point to 
Texas City and they were there by the hundreds, it seemed to 
me — bodies of people who had been washed and blown across the 
bay from Galveston. Some of the people who had made that 
terrible trip across the bay, driven b}^ the force of the wind and 
the waves, were yet alive. 

" There were all sorts of debris and wreckage piled up and 
washing along the mainland; furniture of every description, 
heavy iron, frames of pianos, line plush-covered furniture — every- 
thing was there to be seen. The remains of cattle and horses and 
chickens were there in heaps and piles, drifting boxcars had been 
driven three miles from their original positions and turned over 
and blown about. 

GATHERING UP THE DEAD. 

" Monday, as soon as it was light enough to see, we started 
out looking for skiffs — something to take us to Galveston. We 
did not find a skiff, all had been stove in. At last we found a 
negro who had a boat. He had been crippled. Three of us, 
Miss Beach among the number, took passage on his boat, and I 
took charge of it. The remainder of our party stayed at Vir- 
ginia Point until the arrival of a sailboat and brought a relief 
party to Galveston from Houston. A relief train had arrived, 
from Houston, bringing members of the fire department, the 
health ofiicer and county officers, with provisions. They saw 
that there was no wa}^ for them to cross and so they remained 
and began the work of gathering and bringing the dead on the 
mainland. 

"The concrete piers of the county bridge we found washed 
away in mainland and we saw a big steamer grounded in the 
West Bay. We saw a fine boat about t'hirty feet long that had 
made the trip without sailor or rudder from Galveston. In that 



200 DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 

boat I was told a drowning family took refuge. When they were 
nearly over a wave struck it and threw all its occupants out 
except one man, and he landed in safety. Claude G. Pond, who 
was with Capt. Plummer's life boat during the storm, estimates 
that they saved 200 people in the east end from drowning. 

"They began work Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock and kept 
it up as long as they could do any good in the east end from First 
street to St. Mary's Infirmary. Capt. Plummer waded in water 
up to his chin, and in places was swimming, directing the move- 
ments of the boat, while Mr. Pond and Capt. Plummer's two sons 
manned the boat. 

CLUNG TO THEIR PROPERTY. 

" Several places they extended rescue and the people declined 
to go expressing the belief that their peril was not so great, and 
preferring to remain with their property. Sometimes they would 
make the second trip to such places and sometimes the occupants 
would be saved and in other instances they had tarried too long. 
Their plan was to carry people into places where they could wade 
out and leave them, going back to bring others to shallow water 
and on the return again carrying them further in. 

" In cases where parents had been carried out to wading 
water and deposited, they would stand there instead of pushing 
on, looking back for their children, and it sometimes happened 
that the children and parents both went down while one waited 
for the other, when, if the parents had pushed on after 
they had reached wading water, all might have been saved. 

" One of the last loads carried out was about to land in front 

,' of St. Mary's Infirmary, when a piece of falling timber struck 

the boat and capsized it. They had eight or nine people in the 

boat, and when they succeeded in righting it they could find only 

two or three. 

" Mr. Mennis and a party of about forty people took refuge 
in a two-story grocery store at Forty-fifth street and Broadwa3^ 
When the roof went over and the building went to pieces, Mr. 
Mennis and six others caught on drift. They were driven 



DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 201 

toward the beach into the gulf, and when the wind veered to the 
southeast and later south, they M^ere driven across the bay and 
lauded on the mainland near Texas City. Of the seven who 
made this terrible voyage two died in the course of a day. Mr. 
Mennis lost his mother and two brothers. 

'' In the vicinity of Texas City sixty bodies supposed to be 
'from Galveston have been buried. Nearly all were women. There 
Avas no means of identification, except possibly by jewelry, which 
was found on about one-half of the bodies." 

Prof. Fred. W. Mally reached Houston three days after the 
storm, and in reply to inquiries related some thrilling experiences. 
He had been out at Booth, in Fort Bend County. He boarded the 
7.15 P. M. Santa Fe train. 

TREETOPS INTERRUPTED PROGRESS OF TRAINS. 

" At Thompson," said Prof. Mally, " the train crew stopped 
to water and cool off a hot box, and by the time we started again 
the wind was blowing a gale. There is no wagon road along the 
windward side of the right of way from Thompson to Duke or 
Clear Lake. The result was that as we passed along we were 
kept in constant suspense of disaster by the treetops, which were 
being bent over so as to rasp the A^indows as the train passed on. 

" At several places we had to stop and cut off the tops of all 
trees in order to get through. We finally reached Duke, which 
was out in the open and prairie section. Here it was impossible 
to proceed farther, and the train stopped to await the end of the 
storm. We remained here until about x o'clock in the morniuir 
and tried to get to Alvin. The first station out was Areola. The 
dwellings in this locality were a complete wreck, and only the 
depot remained standing. 

A TOWN IN RUINS. 

" At Manvel, the next station, the ruin seemed even worse. 
The depot had been completely demolished and was laying across 
the track. Not a house standing in good condition. We came 
down farther within three miles of Alvin and found the track 



202 DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 

washed out. The agent from Alviu and the section boss met us 
and stated that Alvin was in ruins and some killed. Not being 
able to get through, we backed up the road, hoping to reach 
Eichenberg. 

'' The sight of seeing men, women and children wading waist 
deep in water over a country where we were accustomed to seeing 
orchards and garden patches and to hear the cries for the dear 
ones missing is enough to unnerve the strongest. Returning to 
Duke we unloaded again those we had saved at that point from 
the storm. 

" While our train of five passenger coaches was standing on 
the track at this point the house in which the agent was living 
was literally blown to pieces. His wife and three children were 
with him, and soon the furious wind was tossing and rolling 
women and children like footballs over the earth. Men from the 
train faced the terrible gale and succeeded in getting all on the 
train in safety. This house stood within seventy-five 3^ards of our 
train. About this time the depot, which was just opposite the car 
I was in, was unroofed and split apart in the middle. 

WHOLE FAMILY SAVED BY TRAINMEN. 

"Soon after a third house, 200 feet away, was blown to pieces 
and a man, wife and three children saved from the wreckage by 
those on the train. We reached the timbered section and were 
soon blocked by the wreckage of fallen trees across the track. 
Everyone who could wield an axe got one, set to work diligently 
to cut our way through. At the same time a large crew was 
working from Rosenberg down toward us. From Thompson to 
Duke large pecan, elm, oak and pine trees were encountered on 
an average every 100 feet. 

"Arriving at Thompson, we found Slavin's store a perfect^ 
mass of ruin, the gin a partial wreck and in ui\' houses blown 
down. Here the first victim of the storm and train was placed 
on board. He had been knocked off the track the night before 
and had his leg broken. At Booth, Booth's store was badly 
wrecked, trees blown all over the land, several houses blown 



DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELM INC TRAGEDY. 203 

dov^ri. One negro was killed in a falling lionsc. x^t Crabb 
eveiything was blown down, and we readied Rosenberg at 
noon. 

"We had many dire expectations all niglit, worked hard all 
morning and had nothing to eat since supper the night before. 
I reached Houston over the Macaroni in time to reach my nur- 
series and people at Hulen. I found only one house standing 
here intact, my large barn and packing shed are damaged but not 
wrecked. My large office building was blown from its foundation 
and considerably twisted, but left it so my manager can live in it 
with his family until something else can pe provided for. None 
of my emplo3'ees were hurt, and, in fact, no deaths or injuries at 

Hulen." 

TERRIBLE TALES OF VANDALISM. 

Passengers who arrived at Dallas told terrible tales of the 
work of the vandals in that cit3^ According to them, men 
inflamed with liquor were roaming among the wreckage over the 
city rifling the hundreds of bodies of even the clothing and leaving 
them to fester in the semi-tropical sun. Much of this horrible 
depredating, it is claimed, is being done by negroes, who will not 
work and cannot be made to leave town. This was before the 
saloons were closed. 

Among those who arrived from Galveston was J. N. Griswold, 
division freight agent of the Gulf, Colorado and Saute Fe Railway. 
His story is as follows : 

" There were many acts of vandalism. Fingers and ears that 
bore diamonds were lopped off with knives. Upon our arrival at 
Texas city I saw an old man who was drunk. Sticking out of a 
pocket in his pants was a bank deposit book full of bank notes. 

" I asked him where he got it. He said he found it on the 
bank. 

" ' How much have you got ?" I asked him. "Oh, about twenty - 
seven dollars,' was his reply. He must have had .'t'everal times 
that amount at least. 

" The darkies are doing most of the pilfering. Sunday morn- 
ing before daylight they were breaking into warehouses and loot- 



204 DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY 

ing stores and saloons particularly. The town was full of drunken 
negroes Sunday morning at daylight. 

"And the worst of it is that nearly all the soldiers were lost. 
Of the detachment stationed at Galveston I don't believe there 
are more than thirty left. At present the crying need of Gal- 
, veston is water and ice — and soldiers. The fresh water on the 
'•island was ruined by the brine from the sea. The ice is needed 
to prevent the decomposition of the corpses. The soldiers are 
needed to keep down vandalism. And along this latter line I 
want to say that the militia must come quickly. The negroes 
should be sent to the cotton fields of north Texas. Those who 
will work can be kept there, but the others should be sent away 
just as soon as possible, for they merely eat up the supplies and 
are a constant menace. They should either be killed or made to 
get out, for one or the other is the grim necessity of the situation. 

FLOATING BODIES IN THE BAY. 

" As to the loss of life in Galveston, I can't figure it. We 
counted ninety-three floating bodies on our way from the wharf 
to Texas City. The prairies across the bay this side of Galves- 
ton are covered with piles of cotton and wreckage of all descrip- 
tions — dead bodies and the like. 

"I got to Galveston at lo o'clock Saturday morning. My 
wife and I took a car and started to the beach. The water was 
rather high and we thought we would have a jolly good time 
splashing around. When we got within five blocks of the beach 
the motorman stopped his car and said that he could go no 
further. We came back downtown and got on another car. This 
time we could get within but seven blocks of the beach. This 
shows you how fast the water was rising. 

"We got back to the Santa Fe ticket office about 11.30 
o'clock. I made up my mind that I wanted to go over to the gen- 
eral offices, but the water was in all the streets and I waited 
awhile, hoping it Avould get lower. But at noon it was between 
knee and hip deep in front of the Santa Fe ticket office. At 2 
o'clock my wife and I waded into the Washington Hotel. 



DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 205 

" From tliat time on the wind grew stronger. At 5 o'clock 
tlie water was six feet deep in the loM^er floor of the Washington 
Hotel. Wh}^, it covered the telephone box in the office. The 
wind blew not less than ninety-five miles an honr from then until 
9.30 o'clock. 

" The first rise came from the ba}^, and the bay rise lasted^ 
until about 8 P. M. Then the tide from the Gulf met the rise 
from the bay and forced it back. That's when we had our highest 
water. And I want to say to you right now that but for those 
two forces meeting there wouldn't be a stick left on Galveston 
Island to-day. 

" About 9 o'clock the water commenced to fall rapidly, and 
at 10 o'clock the wind had subsided fully 50 per cent. The dam- 
age had all been done. At daylight we got out and went down to 
the beach. From the beach back for four or five blocks it was 
just as clean as this floor. Up and down the island there was 
wreckage as high as this ceiling. This had something to do 
with breaking the force of the water. And that wreckage was 
full of dead bodies. The only way to get rid of it is to bum 
it with the bodies in it, for they can never be taken out. 

MAKING A HURRIED ESCAPE. 

"Mondciyat noon we left the wharf on the sailboat 'Lake 
Austin' in company with five others. We paid $100 for passage to 
Texas City. The names of those in the party were, J. A. Kemp, 
of Wichita I'alls ; Henry Sayles, of Abilene ; A. W. Boyd, of 
Houston ; W. A. Frazer, of Dallas, and myself and my wife. 
Mrs. Griswold was the first woman to leave the island after the 
disaster. We landed at Texas City at 2.30, caught the Texas 
Terminal Railway to a junction with the Galveston, Houston and 
Henderson. From there we walked for a mile to where they were 
repairing the track, and caught a freight train into Houston, 
arriving about 10.30 at night. 

" The buildings in Galveston that are not totally wrecked are 
damaged in ; tich a manner that I believe it will cost as much to 
repair them a , it would to build new ones outright. There is not 



« 



206 DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 

a cliurcli left standing. The general offices of the Santa Fe are 
badly wrecked. On the floor next to the top some of the inside 
door casings are forced out of the frames, and the entire building 
will have to be replastered before it will be safe to occupy. The 
train sheds are gone. 

" On the Mallory wharves is a conglomerated pile of boxcars 
and boats and cotton wreckage of every description. The Mal- 
lory liner' Comal' arrived there just after the storm, and, thank 
goodness, the crew has sense enough to stay on board the boat. 
Dead bodies are in all the wreckage under the wharf just like 
dead rats. The Santa Fe officials and the heads of the different 
departments in the general offices, so far as reported, are all safe. 
The families of a good many of the clerks have been lost entirely, 
and in other instances partially so, 

"The Blum family came to the Washington Hotel at da}-- 
light Sunday morning with nothing on them but shreds. They 
hrd lost everything. When they left home they had thousands 
of dollars worth of diamonds on their persons. These were all 
lost in their battle with the elements. Their bodies were a mass 
of bruises. 

"There is scarcely a stock of goods in Galveston that isn't a 

total loss. But the Sealy residence, standing even as it does, 

where it seems as if the slightest breeze would strike it, hasn't a 

scratch on it. 

ENTIRE FAMILIES LOST. 

"The brother of John Paul Jones, the general agent of our 
road, lost his entire family. Will Labatt, assistant ticket agent 
of the Santa Fe, lost his entire family, with the exception of his 
wife, who is visiting in the North. He turned up Sunday morn- 
ing at 6 o'clock more dead than alive and covered with bruises 
and cuts. 

"John Paul Jones, the general agent of the Santa Fe, suc- 
ceeded in saving his family. His wife was very sick, but he saved 
her by swimming ac^ross the street with his child on his head 
and his wife between himself and another person. 

"Mr. Crane, chief rate clerk to the general freight agent of 



DETAILS OF THP: OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 207 

the road, spent the entire uight with his wife on the roof of his 
residence. His wife had been confined about six weeks ago, and 
in addition had an abscess on her leg, which bent it nearly double. 
They were saved. He was a mass of bruises. His heel was 
crushed. 

" I don't see how any man who passed Saturday night in 
Galveston can stay there and make it his home." 

W. A. Fraser, of Dallas, general deputy of the Woodmen of 
the World of Texas, arrived in Dallas from Galveston where he 
had been for several days. He stated that complete as are the 
reports published in "The News," the half has not been told of the 
terrible calamity that has visited the coast country. " On the 
approach of the storm," he said, "I tried to leave on the Interna- 
tional and Great Northern Railroad at 1.30 o'clock, but found that 
the bridges had been washed away and the water had risen to such 
an extent that it was impossible for me to get away from the depot, 
where I took shelter with about 150 other persons wh© had sought 
the same place of refuge. 

THE CRIES OF THE DYING. 

'i ne depot was badly damaged, but no lives were lost there, 
although bodies were floating in every direction and the cries from 
the dying could be heard almost constantly. When daybreak 
came Sunday morning the sights presented were something 
terrible. It was hardly possible to walk along the streets without 
tumbling over dead bodies, and the only thing, in my estimation, 
that saved the city from being completely wiped out was the fact 
that the wind blew from the bay during the first part of the night 
— blowing the water up through town, in some places as high as 
fifteen feet — and the wreckage from destroyed houses was piled up 
along the Gulf front to a height of forty or fifty feet. When the 
wind changed and blew from the Gulf this wreckage acted as a 
breakwater and kept the waves from Mvishiug ever34hiug iato the 
bay. 

* As soon as daylight appeared^the work of rescue commenced, 
but it was soon found that after several vacant stores and all the 



208 DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 

undertaking establisliments had been crowded witli the dea^j that 
it would be impossible to handle them in this way. Barges were 
employed and into them the wagons unloaded the bodies, which 
were taken to the bay and there deposited. It can be safely said 
that there is not a single house in the entire town that has not 
been badly damaged in some way and there are whole families who 
will never be heard from again. 

" Looting and vandalism are rife upon the island. The few 
soldiers they have are exhausted and unable to pioperly guard the 
city, and in my estimation the State troops should be sent there 
at once. Cases of where the fingers of women had been cut off so 
as to deprive them of their rings and their ears cut to get the ear- 
rings are common. It is a hard matter to get a negro to assist in 
any way in burying the dead, as they all seem to be very much 
interested in accumulating all the wealth they can possibly get 
from the dead and from the wreckage. 

WHITE MEN AND NEGROES PLUNDER TOGETHER. 

"They are not alone in this, but I am sorry to say that white 
men are side by side with them in their damnable work. Women 
could be seen on the first morning after the flood with baskets 
over their arms taking everything they could possibly pick up, 
without regard to whom it belonged to or what its value might be. 
What the city needs most, in my estimation, is pure water, food 
and able-bodied men who are willing to work, so the bodies can be 
removed from the wreckage and carried from the island and the 
carcasses of animals be burned or disposed of as quickly as possi- 
ble. Whatever is to be done should be done at the earliest pos- 
ble moment, as provisions are scarce and it is next to impossible 
to get fresh water. The sewerage system is also ch«ked, and this 
combined with the stenches from decaying animal matter makes 
it almost impossible for people to exist for many days. 

" Immediately on my arrival here a meeting of the Woodmen 
was called and $200 in cash subscribed and turned over to me, and 
about $300 more pledged to be placed in my hands on demand. 
All camps througheut the State are requested to immediately call 



Details of the overwhelming tragedy. M 

meetings and forward sucli snbscriptions as they may see proper 
to me at Dallas. This will be nsed for the benefit of Woodmen 
and their families, many of whom are in absolute want and dis- 
tress, and we hope to raise at least $30,000, which is less than $1 
each from our members." 

From Houston came the following heartrending news of the 
Galveston horror two days after it occurred : 

" The dreadful fatality of Galveston is looking worse, in the 
face of facts brought out to-day. Three men, who reached here 
this morning, tell of so and so many dead bodies being found in 
a single house or yard or on one block, that the conclusion is 
almost irresistible that a greater number than 1000 has been lost. 
They tell that twenty or forty or a hundred were lost by the col- 
lapse of a single large house, they having gathered there for 
safety, but they are unable to say anything about the hundreds of 
small houses that were swept away, some vacant, of course, but 
many occupied, but without a mark, a sign or a memory to recall 
the lost. 

NAMES OF DEAD WILL NEVER BE KNOWN. 

"The outline of the terrible disaster is now known over the 
United States, and even farther. The details are wanting ; no 
list of names approaching completeness can be had for weeks, 
and it is almost sure that a complete list will never be found. As 
time wears along the names of different persons will be recalled 
by those who were neighbors, and they will be set down on the 
death roll that will be made up ; but where neighbors do not 
know neighbors', the names will never be called, and the identity 
of the lost will pass with eternity — without recall or remem- 
brance. 

" This city and her people are devoting themselves assidu- 
ously to relieving the unfortunates. Her business men are losing 
not a moment. They thoroughly realize that seconds are valu- 
able. Last night large wagons jostled along the streets with 
boxes of prepared food to load them on boats and cars. The 
Mayor has sent out calls to t;i<^ large cities of this and other 
u 



210 DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 

States for immediate Help, and everybody here feels that the 
response will be generous and speedy. These people know the 
justness of their demand, and hence their confidence in getting 
the answer. 

** W. O. Ansley, a well known cotton man of this city, 
received a letter this morning, brought by private messenger, 
.'from A. W. Simpson, a cotton man at Galveston, saying : 

"'It's awful. Not a complete house in the city. Help 
urgently needed. Thousands are homeless. P'ood is being dis- 
iributed to the destitute, but lots more will be needed.' " 

MISSING ONES SWELL DEATH LIST. 

A newspaper writer who got through from Galveston, made 
the following statement : "The condition at Galveston is heart' 
rending in the extreme for the injured, and it grows worse 
momentarily. The list of the dead Avill not be fully known for 
weeks ; the list of the missing will swell rapidly as soon as the 
people have begun to report their losses to the authorities, and 
gradually this list of missing will change into the list of dead 
as the bodies are recovered from the ruins in the city or are 
picked up on the beach of the mainland, where many of them 
now lie, it is believed. A meeting was held Sunday morning at 
the Tremont Hotel, and at this meeting measures were considered 
for the relief of the stricken. 

" The conclusion was quickly reached that the citizens are 
not equal to the task, notwithstanding their willingness, and an 
appeal for aid was made to the President and the Governor. The 
messages have already gone to them, and will probably be made 
public all over the country by this afternoon. But no tardy aid 
will suffice. It is present necessity that must be met." 

H. Van Eaton, who travels for a Dallas firm, arrived from 
Galveston, where he spent the perilous hours during the storm. 
He reached that city Saturday morning and was unable to cross 
to the mainland until Sunday afternoon. 

"Just after it started to rain," he said last night, " several of 
us thought we would walk down to the beach, but on seeing our 



DETAILS OF THE OVERWHELMING TRAGEDY. 21 f 

danger decided to return to the hotel, which we succeeded in 
doing by wading in water waist deep. Inside of a few minutes 
the women and children began to come to the hotel for refuge. 
All were panic stricken. I saw two women, one with a child, try- 
ing to get to the hotel. They were drowned within three hundred 
yards of us. 

"After the worst was over in Galveston we went over to Vir- 
ginia Point, which cost us :$I5 each. When we got over there we 
found a caboose and an engine chained together with some twenty- 
'five people in it. While we were in the caboose three bodies, two 
men and a child, drifted against the car and we tied them to one 
end to keep them from floating away. We saw fourteen bodies 
there, all having floated across the channel and all more or less 
disfigured from coming in contact with so much wreckage. 
Most of them were women and children. 

" We walked six miles from Virginia Point, swimming at 
intervals, in order to catch the relief train, which could not come in 
further from washouts. We met people coming and going. A 
party of twelve persons, including one woman, had built a raft 
and were intending to cross to Galveston. We saw three launches 
six miles inland, north of Virginia Point on the bald prairie. 
Only one of them seemed to have anyone in it. We reached 
Houston at 3.30 this morning. There are only two houses in any- 
thing like perfect condition between Houston and Galveston. 
From Houston up to Hearne things were badly torn up. The 
whole east end of Galveston and the entire west end are completely 
gone." 



CHAPTER XI. 

Galveston Calamity One of the Greatest Known to His- 
tory — Many Thousands Maimed and ^A^ounded — 
Few Heeded the Threatening Hurricane — The 
Doomed City Turned to Chaos. 

GALVESTON has been the scene of one of the greatest catas- 
trophies in the world's history. The story of the great storm 
of Saturday, Sept. 8, 1900, will never be told. Words are too weak 
to express the horror, the awfulness of the storm itself, to even 
faintly picture the scene of devastation, wreck and ruin, misery, 
suffering and grief. Even those who were miraculously saved after 
terrible experiences, who were spared to learn that their families 
and property had been swept away, and spared to witness scenes 
as horrible as the eye of man ever looked upon — even these can 
not tell the story. 

There are stories of wonderful rescues and escapes, each of 
which at another time would be a marvel to the rest of the world, 
but in a time like this when a storm so intense in its fury, so pro- 
longed in its work of destruction, so wide in its scope, and so 
infinitely terrible in its consequences has swept an entire city and 
neighboring towns for miles on either side, the mind caa not com- 
prehend all of the horror, can not learn or know all of the dread- 
ful particulars. 

One stands speechless and powerless to relate even that which 
he has felt and knows. Gifted writers have told of storms at sea, 
wrecking of vessels where hundreds were at stake and lost. That 
task pales to insignificance when compared with the task of telling 
of a storm which threatened the lives of perhaps sixty thousand 
people, sent to their death perhaps six thousand people, and left 
others wounded, homeless, and destitute, and still others to cope 
with grave responsibility, to relieve the stricken, to grapple with 
and prevent the anarchist's reign, to clear the water-sodden laud 

212 



DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 213 

of putrefying bodies and dead carcasses, to perform tasks that try 
men's souls and sicken their hearts. 

The storm at sea is terrible, but there are no such dreadful 
consequences as those which have followed the storm on the sea 
coast and it is men who passed through the terrors of the storm, 
who faced death for hours, men ruined in property and bereft of 
'families, who took up the herculean and well-nigh impossible 
task of bringing order out of chaos, of caring for the living and 
disposing of the dead before they made life impossible here. 

The storm came not without warning, but the danger which 
chreatened was not realized, not even when the storm was upon 
the city. Friday night the sea was angry. Saturday morning it 
had grown in fur}^, and the wrecking of the beach resorts began. 
The waters of the Gulf hurried inland. The wind came at terrific 
rate from the north. Still men went to their business and about 
their work while hundreds went to the beach to witness the grand 
spectacle which the raging sea presented. 

WATERS CREPT HIGHER AND HIGHER. 

As the hours rolled on the wind gained in velocity and the 
w?cers crept higher and higher. The wind changed from the 
north to the northeast and the water came in from the bay, filling 
the streets and running like a millrace. Still the great danger 
was not realized. Men attempted to reach home in carriages, 
wagons, boats, or any way possible. Others went out in the storm 
for a lark. As the time wore on the water increased in depth and 
the wind tore more madly over the island. 

Men who had delayed starting for home, hoping for an 
abatement of the storm, concluded that the storm had grown 
worse and went out in that howling, raging, furious storm, 
wading through water almost to their necks, dodging flying 
missiles swept by a wind blowing lOO miles an hour. 

Still the wind increased in velocity, when, after it seemed 
impossible that it should be more swift, it changed from west to 
southeast, veering constantly, calming for a second and then com- 
ing with awful terrific jerks, so terrible in their power that no 



214 DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. ' ' 

building could withstand them and none wholly escaped injury. 
Others were picked up at sea. And all during the terrible 
storm acts of the greatest heroism were performed. Hundreds 
and hundreds of brave men, as brave as the world ever knew, 
buffeted with the waves and rescued hundreds of their fellow men. 
Hundreds of them went to their death, the death that they knew 
they must inevitably meet in their efforts. Hundreds of them 
perished after saving others. Men were exemplifying that supreme 
degree of love of which the Master spoke, " Greater love hath no 
man than this, that he give his life for his friend." Many of them 
who lost their lives in this storm in efforts to save their families, 
many to save friends, many more to help people of whom 
they had never heard. They simply knew that human 
beings were in danger and they counted their own lives 

TREMENDOUS FURY OF THE GALE. 

The maximum velocity of the wind will never be known. 
The gauge at the Weather Bureau registered loo miles an hour 
and blew away at 5.10 o'clock, but the storm at that hour was as 
nothing when compared with what followed, and the maximum 
velocity must have been as great as 120 miles an hour. The 
most intense and anxious time was between 8.30 and 9 o'clock, 
with raging seas rolling around them, with a wind so terrific that 
none could hope to escape its fury, with roofs beginning to roll 
away and buildings crashing all around them, men, women and 
children were huddled in buildings, caught like rats, expecting to 
be crushed to death or drowned in the sea, yet cut off from escape. 

Buildings were torn down, burying their hundreds, and were 
swept inland, piling up great heaps of wreckage. Hundreds of* 
people were thrown into the water in the height of the storm, 
some to meet instant death, others to struggle for a time in vain, 
and thousands of others to escape death in most miraculous and 
marvelous ways. 

Hundreds of the dead were washed across the island and the 
bay many miles inland. Hundreds of bodies we-re buried in the 
wreckage. Many who escaped were in the water for hours, cling- 



DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 215 

ing to driftwood, aud lauded bruised aud battered and torn on tlie 
mainland. 

All attempts at burying the dead has been utterly abandoned, 
and bodies are now being disposed of in the swiftest manner pos- 
sible. Scores of them were burned the 12th, and hundreds were 
taken out to sea and thrown overboard. The safety of the living 
is now the paramount question, and nothing that will tend to pre- 
vent the outbreak of an awful pestilence is being neglected. 

This morning it was found that large numbers of the bodies 
which had previously been thrown in the bay were washed back 
upon the shore aud the situation was rendered worse than before 
they were first laden in the barges and thrown into the water. 

TOO MANY ON THE COMMITTEE. 

Relief committees from the interior of the State have com- 
menced to arrive, and, as usual, they are much too large in num- 
bers, and to a certain extent are in the way of the people of 
Galveston, and an impediment to the prompt relief which they 
themselves are so desirous of offering. Several of the relief expe- 
ditions have had committees large enough to consume 10 per 
cent, of the provisions which they brought. The relief sent here 
from Beaumont, Tex., arrived this morning and was distributed 
as fast as possible. It consisted of two carloads of ice and pro- 
visions, and came by way of Port Arthur. 

The great trouble now seems to be that those people who are 
in the greatest need are, through no fault of those in charge of 
the distribution, the last to receive aid. Many of them are so 
badly maimed and wounded that they are unable to appl}^ to the 
relief committee, and the committees are so overwhelmed by 
direct applications that they have been unable to send out mes- 
sengers. 

The wounded everywhere are still needing the atte-ntion of 
physicians, and despite every effort it is fe.ared that a number 
Avill die because of the sheer physical impossibility to afford themv 
tlie aid necessary to save their lives. Every man in Galveston 
who il able to walk and work is engaged in the work of relief 



216 DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 

witli all tlie energy of wliicli lie is capable. But, despite tlieli 
utmost endeavors, they cannot keep up wiili the increase in the 
miserable conditions which surround them. Water can be 
obtained by able-bodied men, but with great difficulty. 

Dr. Wallace Shaw, of Houston, who is busily engaged in the 
prelief work, said that there were 200 people at St. Mary's Infirm-\ 
ary without fresh water. They had been making coffee of salt , 
water and using that as their only beverage. Very little stealing 
was reported and there were no killings. The number of men 
shot down for robbing the dead proved a salutary lesson, and it 
is not expected that there will be any more occurrences of this 
sort. The soldiers of the regular army and of the national guard 
are guarding the property, and it is impossible for thieves to 
escape detection. 

SOLDIERS HAVE MIRACULOUS ESCAPE. 

The loss of life among the soldiers of the regular army sta- 
tioned in the barracks on the beach proves to have been largely 
overestimated. The original report was that but fifteen out of the 
total number in the barracks on the beach had been saved. Last 
night and to-day they turned up singly and in squads, and at 
present there are but twenty-seven missing, whereas the first 
estimate of casualties in this direction alone was nearly two hun- 
dred. It it probable that some of the twenty-seven will answer 
roll call later in the week. 

One soldier reached the city this afternoon who had been 
blown around in the Gulf of Mexico and had floated nearly fifty 
miles going and coming, on a door. Another one who showed up 
to-day declared that he owed his life to a cow. It swam with him 
nearly three miles. The cow then sunk and the soldier swam the 
balance of the way to the mainland himself 

Efforts were made this afternoon to pick up the dead bodies 
that have fioated in with the tide, after having been once cast into 
the sea. This is awful work, and few men are found with suffi- 
ciently strong nerves to last it more than thirty minutes at a time. 
All of the bodies are badly decomposed, swollen to enormous pro- 



DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 217 

portions and of so dark a hue that it is possible to tell onlj. by tbe 
hair, when any hair is visible, whether the corpses are those of 
white people or negroes. 

Gen. McKibben U. S. A., and Adjt. Gen. Scurry arrived last 
night and have assumed entire charge of the city, with the result 
' that conditions have very much improved as far as order and 
method in the distribution of supplies and the direction of the 
work is concerned. Gen. McKibben represents the government 
in a general way, but has not assumed direct charge of the city, 
which is under the command of Adjutant Gen. Scurry. 

Several of the very young soldiers have been a trifle over- 
zealous in the matter of guarding the property, carrying their 
energy to a point which made it somewhat uncomfortable for the 
people whose property and person they came to guard. Gen. 
Scurry repressed them promptly and several of them have been 
disarmed. The service of the militia, on the whole, however, has 
so far been of a most excellent character. 

SIGHT-SEERS BARRED OUT. 

Every effort is being made to induce people to leave Galve^ 
ton, and it is extremely difficult for anyone, no matter what his 
business, unless he is in direct charge of a relief train, to gain 
admittance to the place. Hundreds of people left Houston to-day 
for Galveston, but could get no further than Texas City, which 
is on the north side of Galveston Bay, and there they were com- 
pelled to remain until the train brought them back to Houston. 
No persuasion, no sum of money, would induce the guard to pass 
them into the stricken city. 

Orders had been issued that no sightseers were to be allowed, 
and the order was obeyed with the utmost rigidit}^ It will be at 
least a week before there is full and free communication with Gal- 
veston, but matters are now steadily progressing toward a solu- 
tion of the problems that confront the relief committee. Every 
effort is being made to induce people to leave, and one train, 
which arrived in Houston at 5 o'clock this evening, carried 350 
women and children ; another at 10 o'clock carried twice a-s many 



218 DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 

more, and it is expected that fully 2,000 of tlie women and cliil- 
dren will be out of the place by to-morrow night. Mayor Jones 
estimates that there are at least 10,000 of these helpless ones 
who should be taken from Galveston at the earliest possible 
moment. They are all apparently anxious to get away and will 
be handled as rapidly as possible. 

Another trainload of provisions and clothing, making the 
third within the last twenty-four hours, came here from Houston 
to-night. 

The steamer Charlotte Allen arrived at noon to-day from 
Houston with 1000 loaves of bread and other provisions. The 
amount of food which has been sent so far has been large, but 
there are still in the neighborhood of 30,000 people to be cared 
for on the island. 

BOYS RESCUE FORTY PEOPLE. 

During the storm Saturday night, the Boddinker boys, with 
the aid of a hunting skiff, rescued over forty people and took 
them to the University building, where they found shelter from 
the wind and waves. The little skiff was pushed by hand, the 
boys not being able to use oars or sticks in propelling it, and is 
to be set aside in the University as a relic of the flood. 

Many stories of heroism are coming out. People tell of get- 
ting out of their houses just before the roof fell in on them. 
They tell of seeing people struck by flying timbers and crushed 
*o death before their eyes. One man was cut off" from his family 
iiist as he had them rescued, and saw them sink beneath the 
water, just on the other side of the barrier. He turned in and 
helped to rescue others who were about gone. One woman car- 
ried her five month's old baby in her arms from her house only 
to have a beam strike the child on the head, killing it instantly. 
She suff"ered a broken leg and bruised body. 

The lightship, which was moored between the jetties at ttie 
point where the harbor bar was located before it was removed, was I 
carried to Kali Moon Shoal and grounded. There was nobodv 
aboard exccDt Iv[ate Emii C. Lundwall, the cook and two men. 



DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 219 

She broke lier moorings and with a 1500 pound anchor and 600 
fathoms of 2-inch cable chain, drifted to the point where she 
grounded, a distance of about four miles. 

The damage to the lightship was slight, consisting prin- 
cipally of broken windows. The mate showed himself to be a 
skillful seaman and managed to save the vessel by his skill as 
such. 

Along the whole Bast Sealy avenue the oak trees have been 
partly dragged up by the roots and brittle chinaberry trees are 
practically all gone. All the tender plants have been washed out 
or broken down by debris or blown away literally. Not a tree is 
standing in its natural attitude. Not a building in the Bast end 
escaped injury. One or two, like that of Capt. Charles Clark, suf- 
fered but the loss of a few slat shingles while others were torn 
from their foundations. 

TWISTED INTO ALL SORTS OF SHAPES. 

They were carried around and twisted into such shapes that 
they can not be occupied again although they can be entered and 
the sodden furniture and bedclothing removed. This applies to 
buildings that are still standing. As stated, there is a vast ter- 
ritory of blocks in width on which there is not a vestige of a house 
standing, these having been blown down and carried away with 
the other debris. 

Dr. J. T. Fry, who has been an observer of the weather for 
years, has a theory that the storm which visited Galveston origi- 
nated in the vicinity of Port Bads, and was not the hurricane 
which was reported on the Florida coast. On Thursday a storm 
was reported moving in a northeasterly direction from Key West. 
It moved up the Atlantic coast. The Mallory steamer "Comal" 
ran into it and r.eported a great number ©f wrecks as was reported 
in the "News" at the time. The supposition that this was the 
same storm that reached Galveston by doubling back on its tracks 
is a mistake. 

The first knowledge of the Galveston storm was the report of 
a wind velocity of forty-eight n>iles an hour at Port Bads on Sat- 



220 DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 

iirday morning. Tlie " News " also reported high winds at Pass 
Christian. The Port Eads storm was a distinct storm from that 
of Florida and was confined to the Gulf. The proof of this is that 
the steamer " Comal " came in from Florida in beautiful weather 
and apparently followed in the wake of the storm. 

Eighteen people were caught in the Grothger grocery store, 
i^Sixteenth and N streets, and it is presumed all were lost, as many^ 
have been reported dead who were known to have been in the 
building which was swept away entirely. The firemen buried 
twenty-six people south of Avenue O, between Thirty-Third and 
and Forty-Second streets, on Tuesday. The graves were marked 
with pieces of the garments worn by the persons. 

Will Love, a printerof the ^'HoustonPost," whoformerly lived 
in Galveston, swam the bay Monday to reach his family, whom he 
found to be alive in Galveston. He swam from pier to pier on the 
railroad bridges and at each he rested. 

AWFUL NIGHT IN THE LIGHTHOUSE. 

In the Bolivar lighthouse, which stands 130 feet high on 
Bolivar Point, across the bay from Galveston, some one hundred 
and twenty-five people sought refuge from the storm on Saturday 
evening. Many of the unfortunates had deserted their homes, 
which were swept by the hurricane, and other residents of Gal- 
veston, who had come to the bay shore in their frantic endeavors 
to reach Galveston and their families. Among the latter was 
County Road and Bridge Superintendent Kelso. Mr. Kelso 
stated to a " News " reporter, when he reached Galveston on 
\ Monday afternoon, after having been carried across the bay in a 
' small skiff by Mr. T. C. Moore, that the hundred and more 
refugees spent an awful night in the lighthouse Saturday night 
^during the life of the hurricane. 

The supply of fresh water was soon exhausted and an effort 
was made to secure drinking water by catching rain water in 
buckets subpended from the top of the lighthouse. The experi- 
ment was a success in a way, but it demonstrated a remarkable 
incident to show the force of the wind. The bucket was soon 



DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 221 

filled with water, but it was salty and could not be used. Several 
attempts finally resulted in a fresb water supply to quench the 
thirst of the feverishly excited refugees. 

The salt water was shot skyward over 130 feet and mingled 
vith the rain water that fell in the buckets. From the top of the 
light tower several of the more venturesome storm-sufferers 
viewed the destructive work of the wind on Galveston Island. 
Twelve dead bodies were recovered near the lighthouse. 

Mr. A. Mutti, a storekeeper, lost his life after a display of 
heroism that won for him the honors of a martyr. When the. 
storm struck the city he hitched up a one-horse cart and started 
out to rescue his neighbors. Cartload after cartload he carried in 
safety to fire company house No. 5. On three occasions his cart- 
load of human beings, some half dead, others crazed with fright, 
was carried for blocks by the raging currents, but he landed all 
the unfortunates in the fire house, even to his last load, when he 
met his death. As he attempted to pass into the building on his 
last trip the firehouse succumbed to the wind and collapsed. 
Some of the wreckage struck poor Mutti and he was mortally 
injured. He lingered for several hours. 

GENEROUS OFFER OF HELP. 

Prof Buckner, of the Buckner Orphans' Home of Dallas, 
arrived in the city and made his way at once to the gentlemen 
in chaige of the relief work. He offered to throw the doors of 
his establishment wide open for the orphans of Galveston, who 
have been deprived of their shelter at the various asylums, and 
announced that he was ready to care for about 100 to 150 of the 
children. His offer M^as taken under consideration for advisement 
at a meeting to be held of the managers of the homes. 

The of&cial records of the United States Weather Bureau ' 
have been made up and forwarded to Washington. The reports 
give some very valuable additional informs 'Jon about the storm. 
Unfortunately the recording instruments were destroyed or crip- 
pled beyond operation about 5:10 p. m. on Saturday, as previously 
reported, and before the storm had reached the center of severity. 



222 DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 

The wind gauge recorded a two-minute blow at the rate of loo 
miles an hour and was then demolished by the hurricane, which 
continued to increase in violence. While the exact velocit}^ of the 
wind was not recorded after the destruction of the instruments, 
the Weather Bureau representatives estimate the maximum 
velocity at between iio and 120 miles an hour. It did not main- 
tain this terrific rate for any length of time, probably a half min- 
ute or minute gusts, but sufficient to wreck anything that met the 
full force of the storm. 

A journal of the local office of the Weather Bureau contains 
the report of an apparent tidal wave of four feet which swept in 
from the Gulf some time between the hours of 7 and 8 P. M., and 
the time the wind veered to the southeast and attained its highest 
velocity of between no and 120 miles an hour. It should be 
remembered that there was a tide of about five feet and a terrible 
swell in the Gulf during the storm, and that the tidal wave of four 
feet rode this wall of water and increased the force and speed of 
the sea that washed over the city. 

VIVID DESCRIPTION OF THE CALAMITY. 

Hon. Jeff ]\IcLemore, of Austin, a well known journalist and 
ex-member of the Legislature, returned from Galveston and gave 
the following vivid description of the horrors : 

*' We were five hours making the trip from the mainland, and 
it was not until 7 o'clock Monday evening that we reached the 
wharf When within two miles of the city we discovered a num- 
ber of human bodies floating in the bay, and as the boat passed 
each it caused a shudder of horror among the living. Soon after 
the sun went down the moon came up in a cloudless sky. The 
Wy was as a large mirror, and the scene seemed so peaceful and 
serene that for a moment it was hard to realize that we were soon 
to gaze upon the saddest, darkest picture in the book of time. A 
gentle breeze wafted our boat lightly over the smooth waters, and 
as we entered the harbor and neared the wharves, formerly the 
scene of busiest life, a silence deep and awful prevailed. No one 
on board spoke a word and the silence was oL\ly broken by the 



DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 223 

sound of a rifle sending some robber of the dead into endless 
eternity. 

" After landing we made our way over huge heaps of wreck- 
age that were piled almost mountain high and emerged into an 
open space only to be hailed by armed sentries who were guarding 
the town against ghouls, vandals and looters. After explaining 
who we were the sentries permitted us to pass, and directed us to 
the Tremont Hotel, the chief place of rendezvous for the stricken 
people. 

GHOSTLY SCENES OF NIGHT. 

" As we made our way to the hotel, a thing we did with 
difficulty, because of the wreckage that covered the streets, we saw 
only desolation and ruin on every hand. The pale of the moon 
added weirdness to the chaos and look where we might there was 
nothing to gladden the searching eye. We passed several small 
groups of men who spoke in vvhispers and those we addressed 
looked at us strangely and wondered what we came for. 

" At last the hotel was reached and here most of us found 
friends and acquaintances who inquired after those we left behind. 
The city being under martial law, most of our party, after doing 
all in their power to relieve the anxiety of anxious men and 
women, disposed themselves about the hotel until morning, it being 
unsafe to roam about the city at night for fear of being mistaken 
for vandals and ghouls that have infested the city ever since the 
storm. To some of us it seemed that morning would never come, 
but it did come come at last, and it came bright and fair. 

*'I then started out to view the stricken city by da3dight and 
such a scene as I witnessed is beyond the power of words to tell. 
The wildest flight of imagination can never paint the picture that 
*lay before my view, and if none can imagine it, then there is no 
way to give one even a faint conception of it in words. The 
horror of it is beyond the pale of exaggeration, and the worst that 
may be said cannot even approach it. Acres and acres of houses 
were scattered in ruins over the earth and beneath the oroken and 
shivered timbers were the decaying bodies of human beings, who 
sufi"ered tortures worse than death. 



2^4 DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 

" Along the pebbled beacb, once the most beautiful in tlie 
world, and a scene of wonted gayety, now all is desolation and 
awe. Human bodies, swollen and unrecognizable, were mingled 
with those of dead animals and reptiles, and the whole formed a 
scene so gruesome and so misshapen that the thought of it even 
sends a sickening thrill coursing through one's veins. 

"To add to the horror of the situation, human hyenas moved 
stealthily among the dead, robbing those who were powerless to 
resist, but these ghouls in human guise are meeting with just 
retribution, for armed sentinels are now on guard and have orders 
to shoot them down as they would mad dogs. 

" If the situation along the East Side was more horrible than 
that along the West, it was only because more people dwelt there 
and there were more houses to be destroyed. Along either beach 
gaunt destruction held full swa}', and each wave seemed more 
cruel than that which it succeeded. Nor were the waves alone in 
their cruelty, for the winds reveled in maddened fury and seemed 
to vie with them in spreading ruin and desolation. 

HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE CARRIED OUT TO SEA. 

"The loss of life at Galveston will never be known. The 
storm came first from the northwest and hundreds, perhaps thou- 
sands, were carried far out to sea never more to return. At lo 
o'clock at night the wind suddenly veered to the southeast and 
hundreds more were swept into the bay and caught by the cur- 
rent and also carried out to the sea before daylight Sunday morn- 
ing. That is the opinion of old seamen with whom I conversed, 
and if they do not know the actions of the ocean, then no one does. 

"Monday evening and Tuesday morning I myself saw more 
than a hundred bodies floating out to sea and these were scarcely 
one per cent of those who perished. Responsible men with whom 
I talked and who had been from one end of the island to the 
other, estimated the loss at from 5,000 to 10,000, and all thought 
it would come nearer the last named figures than the first. Day 
by day as the debris is cleared away bodies will be found and 
many are buried beneath the ruins that will never be removed. 



DUO.MED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 225 

'* Even' portion of the island was submerged and it seems a 
miracle that the entire cit}^ was not swept away. At least two- 
fifths of the houses on the island have been razed to the ground. 
Of the remaining three-fifths, at least half are damaged be3?'ond 
repair, Mobile the others are all damaged to greater or less extent. 
No house escaped without some damage and to have some idea of 
the cyclonic nature of the storm it will be only necessary to state 
that steel shutters on large business buildings were twisted around 
as one would twist a small piece of copper wire. 

" Large splinters were whirled about in the air like darts, and 
many found lodgment in human bodies, no doubt producing 
instant death. Oh, the horror and terror of that dismal night ! 
The wind howling, the sea roaring and lashing, houses falling 
and crashing, men, women and children screaming ; the shrieks 
of dying animals ; imagine it, if you can, and you may form ~ 
faint idea of the situation at Galveston last Saturday night. 

HUMAN VULTURES PILFERING AND LOOTING. 

"Tuesday morning I passed a partially wrecked home, in the 
door of which stood a j^oung face and snow-white hair. 

"' Saturday morning,' said the man who accompanied me, 
* that woman's hair was dark brown ; Sunday morning it had 
turned to snow.' I did not doubt him, for iie told me of the 
woman's experience and how she had been sa\'ed as if by a miracle. 

" But the woeful part of the terrible disaster has not yet been 
told. Hundreds of human vultures, almost before the storm had 
abated, began the work of pilfering and looting. Dead bodies 
were robbed and in some instances fingers were cut off to secure 
the rings that were on them. Most of these vultures were negroes, 
and they kept up their horrible work all day Sunday and Sunday 
night. Monday mt rnmg martial law was declared, and those 
oliiced on guard had strict orders to shoot all pilferers and looters. 
Many met their just fate, and by Tuesday morning the looting 
had almost ceased 

"Sunday the jjegroes refused to help bury the dead for either 
love or money. But when martial law was declared they were 

15 



226 DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 

forced at the point of the bayonet and made to do their share of 
the gruesome work. Up to Monda}'- noon many of the dead were 
identified, but after that identification was impossible because of 
the swollen and decomposed condition of the bodies. 

" Monday afternoon several hundred were loaded ou baiges 
and carried far out into the Gulf, where they were thrown over to 
become the food of sharks and fishes. Snnday and Monday morn- 
ing many were buried down the island in the shallow sand, bu: by 
Tuesday morning these, as well as other bodies gathered along 
the beach, were piled on wood and burned. 

"There is still great danger to Galveston from sickness and 
pestilence. The streets are filled with sediment from the Gulf 
and bay, and this is beginning to smell almost as bad as the dead 
bodies. Because of the immense heaps of wreckage it will be 
impossible to flood the streets for weeks to come, even if there 
were plenty of water." 

BURYING THE VICTIMS IN TRENCHES. 

Four days after the disaster the following account was an 
accurate picture of the condition of Galveston : This evening the 
committees in charge of clearing up the city, caring for the desti- 
tute and arranging for transportation feel much encouraged. 
Something like order has been been brought out of chaos. There 
is organized effort and the day's work has been big. It was impos- 
sible to handle the dead bodies of human beings or the carcasses 
of animals to get them to sea, because of putrefaction. Hundreds 
were buried in trenches and many were cremated. It was neces- 
sary to handle fire with great caution, as there is no water supply 
as yet. 

The city is not suffering much for drinking water, but water 
is needed in the mains, that fire may be controlled. The water 
has been flowing steadily from the Alta Loma supply pipe into 
the tank. Unfortunately there was no connection from the rig 
tank to the mains, except through the pumps, and it is impos- 
sible to get the water through by that route. Alderman McMas- 
ter, who has been directing the work to-day, is getting out the 



DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 227 

connection from the pumps to the mains and is making a con- 
nection from rig tank to mains. 

Some of the large pipe needed was not available, bnt carpen- 
ters are making a wooden section which will stand the slight 
pressures. It is expected that water will be turned into the 
mains from the rig tank before morning. This will give si 
supply in yard hydrants and fill plugs from which the steamers 
can work. The men at work on the pumps and pipes are well 
along with their work, but the boilermakers are not so far along. 
Mr. McMaster thinks the pumps can be started by to-morrow, 
und that they will give the usual pressure in the mains. 

VISITORS DO NOBLE WORK. 

In addition to the arrangements made for handling people 
from here to Texas City and thence via the Galveston, Houston 
and Henderson Railroad to Houston, the prospect is that the 
Southern Pacific will be ready for passengers within 
the next few days. Mr. W. S. Keenan, general passenger 
agent of the Santa Fe, said this evening that he expected that 
their track would be completed to both ends of the bridges by 
to-morrow evening. The company has chartered three boats and 
will take passengers by train from Galveston to the bridge and there 
transfer by boat to the mainland. 

A large number of people reached here to-day from Houston 
and other points. Soms of them came to lend helping hands, and 
are doing noble work ; others came to look for relatives. But 
there are many who come out of sheer curiosity and who do 
nothing but eat provisions and drink the water. They are 
taking up room in the boats returning to mainland which women 
and children ought to have. People who are not coming to help, 
or on other urgent missions, ought to remain away ; sightseers 
are not wanted, and those who have no higher purpo.^^e in coming 
will do Galveston the greatest service within their power by stay- 
ing way. 

The police and soldiers have orders not to permit the land- 
ing of strangers, and the order is being carried out as far as 



228 DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 

possible. The committee on transportation purposes to see that 
women and cltildren get a chance to leave here first, and able- 
bodied men will not be permitted to leave during the first few 
days. If sightseers come anywaj^ they will find it difficult to get 
in and still more difficult to get out of the city. 

Mayor Jones received a telegram to-day from President 
McKinley, expressing his sorrow that Texas had been vi.^'ted b\- 
such a dreadful calamity, and advising that he had instructed the 
Secretary of War to render all the assistance possible. 

The Mayor also received a telegram from the Kansas City ' 
Chamber of Commerce, saying that body stood ready to help, and 
asking what it could do. 

The steamer " George Hudson " arrived from Beaumont this 
afternoon with a carload of ice, 5000 barrels of water, and pro- 
visions. Mr. John F. Keith, who came with the tug, said he 
would take 100 passengers with him in the morning, and he 
would bring the tug on another trip with lime and provisions. 
Fortunatel}'', Galveston has not been entirel}^ without ice. The 
Red Snapper Company had a large supply on hand, and it has 
been letting people have it at wholesale prices. This suppl}^ will 
last a day or two, and ice will then be gladly received. Three of 
the schooners of the Red Snapper Company reached here from 
Campechy banks to-day, filled with fish. 

DEAD ANIMALS CARRIED ACROSS THE BAY. 

The fish were given away by the thousands to all who came 
tor them. Animals are being dumped into the bay, which go out 
with the tide and coming ashore by the hundreds at Bolivar pen- 
insula. Parties started to bury them, but the few people on the 
peninsula found it impossible. They came to the city to implor^ 
the authorities to send men thereto bury these animals and t» 
quit throwing them into the bay. The dumping into the bay had 
already been stopped, as there was little wind and the carcasses 
were cremated. 

Between Fifteenth street and Avenue C, running on a line 
parallel with the island, a great mass of wreckage is piled as high 



DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 229 

as a mall's head at any poiut aud from that to the height of three- 
story houses. This line extends as far along as there were houses 
to wreck and consists of all kinds of buildings. A half of the 
section mentioned was traversed by a "News " man this morning. 
Names of fully 400 people were found v.dio lived in that section. 
The debris is so high above these bodies that it may be days 
before all will be removed. 

There were a great man 3^ injured by the storm, and these are 
being cared for at the hospitals, both of which are located at the 
east end of the St. Mar3''s University building at Fourteenth and 
Sealy avenue. This is a building quite well suited to the pur- 
pose, but of course it is lacking in conveniences. A large number 
of people with broken bones and badly torn limbs are confined 
there, and nearly every one of them has lost either whole families 
or some member. Drs. Starley and Ruhl are in charge aud have 
been working night and day tending to those rescued from the 
wrecks of their homes. 

SCHOOL BUILDING CARRIED A BLOCK AWAY. 

The tower of the Rosenberg school fell in and killed about 
eleven people during the height of the storm. It was a place of 
refuge for all the people driven from their homes b}^ the high 
water and terrific winds. 

The parochial school situated on the corner of Eleventh and 
Sealy avenue, was taken from its foundations and carried by wind 
and water a full block to Twelfth street and Sealy avenue, landing 
on the north side of the street, whereas it was located on the south 
side previously. This stands amidst a great pile of driftwood, 
: nd having been carried to that location undoubtedly formed a 
barrier for the collection of great piles of drift that were brought 
in from gulfward. It shoved some smaller buildings out of their 
former locations, but did not wreck mau}^ of them. 

The drift is something terrible. It includes every kind of 
house used by men, and represents all the city south of the line 
described to the beach in which it is reported that large numbers 
»f dead bodies, which floated to sea yesterday, have been washed 



^30 DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 

during the day. Tlie houses are sometimes to be found quite 
intact, but turned bottom up like an upturned dry goods box. 
Others are but so much kindling wood. 

The greatest wreck is possibly the Sacred Heart Catholic 
Church, at Fourteenth and Broadway. The front wall is nearly 
all standing, with the steeples on either side, and the cnrved wall 
that surrounds the chancel seemed in pretty good shape, but the 
two side walls are gone beyond repair. The east side is standing 
about half way up, and the west side was thrown to the ground. 
Sand covers the campus in that neighborhood. 

The University building suffered a good deal from the blow, 
but it was the haven of rest for all the people in that neighbor- 
hood, as it is now the hospital for the injured and the place oi 
'Succor for the women and children. 

GREAT ^A^RECK OF ST. MARY'S INFIRMARY, 

The next greatest wreck is the St. Mary's Infirmary on Mar- 
ket and Eighth streets. Practically everything there is gone but 
the new part, which was completed about two years ago. This 
is badly damaged, but is being used. It does not cover nio.'-e than 
a quarter of the floor space of the entire building when intact 
This is used to support injured and is the place of refuge. Sealy 
Hospital, between Ninth and Tenth streets, escaped serious 
injury, beyond damage to the roof 

The colored school, on the corner of Broadway and Tenth 
streets, is a mass of wreckage, piled up with the debris along the 
mountain chain previously described. This was a large two- story 
frame building of eight rooms, and stood high in the air. A little 
Episcopal mission, located on the corner of Fifteenth and Avenue 
Iv, was carried northwest along Fifteenth street and broke up a 
block away. The gentleman who was in charge of the mission, 
Henry Hirsinger, was lost. 

This great line of wreckage forms the division point between 
a mass of houses unroofed and partly damaged and a great prai- 
rie, which up to Saturday was the location of the homes of thou- 
sands of Galveston's people. This was generally known as the 



DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 231 

colored section of the city, but the colored i^i^cple as a rule lived 
close to the beach. As a consequence they got scared early in 
the day and moved into town. 

The result is that the death list is not as great proportion- 
ately among the colored people as it is among the whites, although 
a great many of them are missing. Prominent among the col- 
ored people missing are S. C. Cuney, a nephew of Wright Cuney,' 
formerly collector of customs at this port. The rector of the col- 
ored Episcopal church, Rev. Thomas Cain, and his wife are lost. 

The poles of the Bast Broadway street railway line are stand- 
ing erect to Fourteenth street, beyond which there is but one 
pole. The wires are all down, as a matter of course, and the 
track is filled with wreckage. The line of wreckage crosses 
Broadwa}^, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets, and in it at 
that point are several bodies which cannot be reached on account 
of the high pile of lumber. 

HOUSES PLACED BACK TO BACK. 

The great bulk of this debris is unbroken and sides and roofs 
of houses still intact, and the vast amount of loose boards can be 
used for rebuilding, so that there will be lessened cost in that 
direction. In some places whole houses have been moved from 
their foundations and carried around back of others, thus forming 
a barrier which caught the floating debris and prevented the 
whole north side of town being swept from Gulf to bay and carried 
into the bay. 

The roof of the elevator is gone and the wheat there is 
exposed, but if fresh water can be obtained soon it is expected the 
wheat can be saved by drying. The sheds on the wharves are ■ 
practically all gone, but the wharves are supposed to be in such 
shape that they can be repaired at a nominal expense and can be" 
resumed. 

The following letter was received at Fort Worth from C. H. 
Fewell, who is night yardmaster of the Santa Fe Railway Com- 
pany, at Galveston : 

"The only means of sending mail or auything is by water 



232 DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 

to Houston. All bridges and wires are gone, and it will be weeks 
before they can possibly get a train out of here. The city is a 
complete wreck. Very few buildings are standing that have not 
in some way been wrecked by the storm. The loss of life will 
never be known ; it will run into thousands. You can't imagine 
/■vhat a terrible shape this place is in. We are thankful to be 
. dive, but cannot help but feel sad when we think of the many 
friends we have lost, and the hundreds that are leftwithout homes 
and without a mouthful of anything to eat. Relief must come 
soon or many will starve to death. 

"Our rooming house stood the storm well, with the excep- 
tion of a corner blown off and part of the roof I got rip about 4 
o'clock Saturday. It was then raining and blowing hard. I left 
the house and started for the Tremont hotel and came near not 
making it. We stayed there all night. For four hours I thought 
every minute that the building would certainly go with the many 
that were going to pieces around it. We would have been as well 
off had we stayed at home, but was afraid our house would not 
stand the storm. 

HORRIBLE BEYOND DESCRIPTION. 

" Wagons have been passing all day piled full of dead bodies. 
Many of them will never be identified, and they are now taking 
them right to the Gulf for burial. This seems terrible, but it 
must be done, as it is impossible to bury them on the island. 
Hundreds of bodies are floating in the bay and outskirts of what 
was once the city. I cannot describe how horrible it is. I have 
been over most of the city since Sunday morning and know 
exactly how everything is situated. From the beach for at least 
four blocks in there is not a sign of anything left to show for 
what was once fine residences. 

"Not one thing is left to show that there ever was anything 
at the beach. Everything is piled up ; all rubbish for about four 
blocks from the beach bej^ond which it looks as clear as the prairie. 
The east and west end of the town is entirely gone. At the east 
end not a thing remains standing to Twelfth street Dead bodie" 



DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS. 233 

can be seen every place except in the business part of tlie city, 
to-da}^, two days after the storm. They are bringing them in 
by the wagon loads every hour. Nearly every one you meet 
has lost some friend and is looking for them. I visited three places 
where they have been taking the bodies to-day with a friend look- 
^ing for relatives, and I know there could not have been less than 
COO bodies in each place, lying cold in death. The general offices 
are a complete wreck ; the wharves, elevators and everything 
connected with the railroads are more or less racked and many of 
them a total loss. Not a splinter is left of our yard office. You 
might say hundreds of cars are turned over and can be found 
nearly a block from where the3'' were left before the storm." 



1 



CHAPTER XII. 

Thrilling Narratives by Eye-witnesses — Path of the Storm's 

Fury Through Galveston — Massive Heaps of Rubbish — 

Huge Buildings Swept into the Gulf. 

7T T GALVESTON on that fatal Saturday night there were 
iTjL deaths far more horrible than any of which even a Sien- 
kiewicz could conceive. Mothers and babes, fathers and 
husbands, were hurled headlong into the world beyond without a 
chance to make peace with their Maker, with a farewell kiss or 
a last fond embrace. Upon every hand the dead were piled up like 
drift-wood cast up by the sea, even as they were at Waterloo and 
Gettysburg and behind Kitchener in the Soudan. The bodies of 
men that the day before were perfect specimens of phj^sical develop- 
ment were swollen and discolored by the fierce rays of the autumn 
sun, and were food for flies and maggots which buzzed or crawled 
hither and thither unceasingly. In the bay the sharks were over- 
fed, and on the prairies the buzzards could no longer be tempted. 

If those who live far from the awful scene of woe, believe that 
this is over-drawn, let them ask the pale-faced nerve-racked refugees, 
from that terrible place, and they will be told that it is impossible 
for either pen or brush to give the picture as it is. The photo- 
grapher, with all his art, stands baffled. The artist, with all his 
talent, is incompetent. The newspaper man, accustomed to the 
dark side of life, shudders and turns from description to the work 
of reciting details, horrible enough in themselves, but far more 
pleasant. | 

There arrived in Dallas a score or more of men who told of/ 
decomposed bodies, and maggots and flies and starvation and dis- 
tress until their hearers rushed away in horror. Some of these 
heart-breaking tales are given herewith. 

Ed. A. Gebhard of The Dallas News came in from Texas 
City. He said : 

"Among the many stories of the Galveston disaster 1 have 
234 



THRIL1,1NG NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 235 

oc^n none that fully describe the sight that presented itself around 
Texas City and Virginia Point on Monday. They all seem to lose 
the irapressiveness that the narrator gave them when the centre of 
an excited group who were eager to know if friends or relatives 
were among the dead. Every word is heard or read ravenously all 
over the country, and when one has seen the ghastly faces of 
friends and acquaintances strewn ruthlessly among the grass and 
rubbish around Texas City and along that part of the bay shore 
he will not wonder that the world stands aghast. 

" The corpses that had been thrown up by the cruel waters on 
the mainland were for the time being neglected for the field that 
contained thousands instead of hundreds. The remains of the old 
man of many winters, with the determined looking face, who gazed 
with intentness into the now cloudless skies, was kept silent com- 
pany by a little miss whose smile would melt the heart of the most 
cruel man alive. Further on were the forms of women and chil- 
dren, most of which were entirely nude, the wind having been that 
severe that even the shoes were torn from their feet. 

THROWN TOGETHER IN UTTER CONFUSION. 

" I have seen tracks of many cyclones, but never have I seen 
the path of one that held the misery, the suffering and the general 
destruction that were occasioned by this hurricane, assisted by the sea. 

" Furniture, household articles, pianos (complete and in part) 
and the carcasses of every kind of domestic animal were to be found 
in chaos. Even from the mainland could be seen the dire effects 
of the storm on the seaport of Texas — jagged walls, broken smoke- 
stacks, tin roofs suspended from their proper places or lying curled 
up at my feet in the bay, a distance of several miles from where 
they belonged. While it is natural for a person drowning to cling 
to whatever comes in their reach with that intensity that they can- 
not be disengaged, after death, without much trouble, this very 
thing lent much grewsomeness to the scene. Mothers with their 
children in their arms could not be separated from them, even by 
death. 
• The piling of the destroyed railroad bridges had an occasional 



236 THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 

figure clinging to them. On nearer approacli the head was seen to 
be thrown back as if to keep above water, and the features were 
distorted with horror as if in their last moments they realized the 
fatality of the attempt. The sea, not content with drowning the 
living and washing them away, desecrated the tombs of Galveston 
and several caskets were seen floating on the bosom of the quiet 
bay that morning and two or three were found on shore as if resent- 
ful at having their rightful rest disturbed. 

" Many people from a distance moved only by a morbid curi- 
osity, which I consider little short of criminal, crowded to Houston 
in order that they might go to the devastated city and vie\r the 
misery and devastation, not willing to alleviate suffering or help to 
bury the dead. As for me, I trust I will never look on a sight as 
appalling, as heartrending, as desolate, while life lasts," 

A ST. LOUIS MAN STORMBOUND. 

George MacLaine, of St. Louis, arrived at Dallas from Galves- 
ton, where he spent the time from Friday until Tuesday. " I was 
intending to leave on the 1.50 train Saturday afternoon," he said, 
" but I could not get away on account of the storm, the water hav- 
ing risen to such an extent that it could not cross the bridge. 

^' My experience was pretty much the same as a large number 
of others have given. During the storm I was in a building lo- 
cated at the corner of Twenty-fifth and Market streets, two or three 
blocks above the Santa Fe depot. We were in the parlor of the 
hotel on the second floor, with about eight feet of water in the 
lower story. The parlor was crowded with guests and refugees, 
men and women, and from the windows I witnessed a great many 
affecting and pathetic sights, particularly in the way of appeals to 
the men in the hotel to assist in rescuing women with children in 
the neighborhood who had become separated from their husbands. 

" One case I particularly noticed — that of a woman and five 
young children, whose house fell on top of them, but, fortunately, 
in such a way as to protect them from the force of the waves and 
wind. Several attempts were made by various parties to rescue this 
family, but the rescue parties always returned with the statement 



THRILLING NARRaTP LS BY EYE-WITNESSES. 237 

tliat on account of the debris cind the swift current they were unable 
to get near enough to the house to render any assistance. The 
first attempt was made about 6 o'clock in the evening. 

"They were eventually given up for lost, when, to the surprise 
of everyone, cries for help were heard from the ruins about 5 o'clock 
in the morning. Appeals were again made to some of the white 
men in the house to go to their relief, but, I am very sorry to sa}^, 
they were in vain until finally two colored men who worked in the 
kitchen and one of the whites volunteered their services and suc- 
ceeded in bringing the party to the hotel. They had practically 
nothing on them when they came, but the}^ were taken in hand and 
the best done with them in. the way of giving them clothing and 
food that was possible. There were so many cases of this kind that, 
as I say, it is simply a repetition of the experience of others. 

DRUNKEN REVELRY IN THE STREETS. 

" On Sunday morning, immediately after the storm and as 
soon as daylight appeared, the scene on the streets was one I shall 
never forget. There were drunken women, almost nude, with 
their male companions, also under tl"'^ influence of liquor, parading 
t'le streets aud laughing and singing as if returning from a pro- 
h nged spree. There were some of the best citizens of Galveston 
h irrying to and fro, asking this one and that one if they had 
h ^ard anything of their sisters, wives or some other member of 
tl eir families. 

"There were others who had been present when their families 
hdd perished, weeping and wailing over their losses, young child- 
ren crying for their parents who had perished, parents crying for 
the loss of their children, and others walking aimlessly about or 
standing around as if they were stunned. Everyone appeared so 
thoroughly unnerved that there was a total lack of organized effort 
to search for the missing or to collect food. 

" Almost immediately after the waters receded sufficiently to 
permit people to wade or walk in safety men and women could be 
seen with their long poles and baskets, whose principal aim and 
object seemed to be to profit by the. misfortunes of the poor people 



238 THRILLING NARRATIVES t^x EYE-WITNESSES. 

who had lost their lives or their homes. On Sunday afternoon I 
took a walk out Tremont avenue to inquire as to the safety of 
some of my friends who lived on that street, and after making a 
few visits proceeded to the beach to witness the destruction that 
had taken place in that neighborhood. 

"Of course it has been told by several how everything had 
been swept off the face of the land in that direction, but I could not 
help noticing the large number of colored people with their baskets 
^ and shawls searching through the ruins of what had been the finest 
homes in Galveston for bric-a-brac, silver and other articles of 
value. I stood for some time, amazed that they could have the 
audacit}^ to do what they were doing, but as nobody seemed to 
interfere with them or question their right, I passed on as every 
one else did, simply feeling astounded that people could be so inhu- 
man at such a time. I saw one colored woman who had filled her 
basket and was returning to the city when she met one of the 
unfortunate owners of the property, who, by the merest chance, 
noticed sticking out of the woman's basket some article that she 
was able to identify as her property. ^■ 

CURSED FOR INTERFERENCE. 

" She called upon the darkey to give up the article, but she 
declined to do so, taking the position that in such times it was 
anybody's property. Fortunately for the rightful owner a gentle^ 
man friend happened to come along during the controversy, and^ 
hearing the nature of it, forcibly took the basket from the woman, 
who was even then bold enough to stand cursing the man for his 
interference. I did not see any parties mutilating or robbing the 
dead, but I met several others in Galveston who had. 

" I left oii Tuesday morning, being fortunate enough to get 
passage on a schooner that carried me to Texas City. From there 
ll caught a train to Houston. All day Monday in Galveston it 
seemed to be one continual procession of bodies, which were being 
carried in wagons, drays, fire ladders, and every other imaginable 
conveyance. Some of the bodies were minus heads, arms or feet, 
which, added to the advanced stage" of decomposition, not only 



THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 23» 

made the scene particularly horrible to witness, but extremely 
nauseating on account of the smell from the bodies. Particularly 
toward the close of Monda}' the bodies were found so rapidly that 
any effort to carry them to any special point for burial had about 
ceased and they were covered up in the sand, laid down on the 
wharf or left where the}^ were found. Even after I was fortuu^^e 
pnough to get a schooner to carry me to Texas City it seemed that 
there were almost as many floating in the bay and being carried 
off or lying around on the mainland as I had seen in Galveston 
itself. 

"It was a horrible experience which I passed through, which 
I hope will never occur again in my lifetime, aud I feel that I can- 
not too strongly call attention to the urgent needs, both in food 
and clothing, not only of the poor classes, but of the best people 
in Galveston, who up to the time of this terrible calamitj'' had not 
known what want was, and who even now seem ill at ease in know 
ing how to make their wants known." 

STORM OF INDESCRIBABLE FURY. 

Rudolph Daniels, Assistant General Passenger Agent of the 
Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway, was in Galveston during the 
storm, and returned to Dallas on the 12th. Mr. Daniels said : "I 
can only give you my experience and what I saw. The storm was 
indescribable in its fury, and it was hard to realize the extent of the 
devastation and destruction even when on the scene. It does not 
seem real or possible. 

"I was in a restaurant near the Tremont Hotel when the 
storm broke. It began blowing a gale about 2 o'clock in the after- 
noon, but the wind did not reach an alarming height until about 4 
o'clock. Myself and friends saw that it was going to be a storm 
of more than ordinary fury and started for the Tremont. The 
street was three feet deep in water and we got a carriage. We had 
to draw our feet up on the seats to keep out of the water. 

"At 5 o'clock the wind was blowing a hurricane, and the water 
came over the sidewalk in front of the Tremont. 

"The water in the street was full of telegraph poles, beer kegk^ 



240 THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 

boxes and debris of all sorts. The wind was carrying all sorts of 
missiles. On a great many roofs in Galveston oyster shells were 
used instead of gravel. The wind tore them off and hurled them 
through the air with great force, injuring people and breaking win- 
dows. The air was full of flying glass and every imaginable thing 
that could be blown awa3^ Mixed with the roaring of the hurri- 
cane was a bedlam of strange noises, the crash of breaking glass, 
rumble of falling walls and rattle of tin roofs making an infernal 
sound. 

"The people for blocks around endeavored to make their wa}' 
to the Tremont. Rescuers stood on the sidewalk to assist those 
who were trying to cross the street, which was over waist-deep in 
water. The water was lashed to foam by the wind and the air was 
thick with spume and spray. When a person, man, woman or 
child, would get in reach, those on the sidewalk would seize them 
and drag them into the hotel. 

"Soon there were about looo people in the hotel. Women 
with hardly clothing enough to cover them, and that wet, were 
crowded along the halls and stairways. They were moaning and 
babies were crying. Outside in the storm all seemed a sort of 
haze. No definite shapes could be seen across the street. 

WINDOWS BROKEN AND ROOMS FLOODED. 

" The wind reached its strongest about 6 o'clock. Then the 
water was in the rotunda of the hotel. Part of the skylight had 
blown off and the rain was pouring in. Many of the windows 
were broken by flying pieces of debris and the rooms were flooded. 
My room was among those flooded. Joe Morrow had a room that 
was dry, and he and Harry Archer and myself crowded into it. 
Morrow got four inches of candle somewhere, and we had half a 
dozen dry matches. We burned the candle from time to time dur- 
ing the night to cheer us up. All of us were scared and did not 
know what minute everything would go. After midnight the 
storm began to go down, and at 5 o'clock in the morning the water 
had gone out of the hotel and part of Tremont street was above i ( . 

"We set out to find W. H. McClure, who had had an awful 



THRILLING NAkRATlVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. '241 

experience. He came to the hotel and offered a hackman any 
price to go to his house after his family, but could not induce him 
to go. Failing in that, he started back home to his wife. That was 
7 o'clock, and he did not manage to reach home, one-half mile 
away, until 2.30 in the morning. We found them all safe. We 
saw several bodies on Tremont street on the way there. 

"The organization of relief work began at once. It was soon 
seen that there was no time for the identification of bodies, and the 
work of taking them to sea for burial began. Along the Gulf 
front for three blocks back there is not a house standing, and I 
could see only one or two on the Denver resurvey. 

" There was a meeting of all the railroad men in Galveston at 
9 o'clock Tuesday morning, at which it was arranged that freight 
would be handled through Houston and the Clinton tap to Clinton 
and by barge to Galveston. The Galveston, Houston and Hender- 
son to handle passengers to Texas Citv and then to Galveston by 
the steamer Lawrence." 

W. H. McGrath, general manager of the Dallas Electric 
Company, returned from Galveston yesterday. He said : 

HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE STREWN FOR MILES. 

''No words can express the scenes of death and desolation. 
Nothing can be said that will convey the full meaning. I went 
over to Galveston in a schooner and came away as soon as possible. 
What they need there is not people, but ice, water and supplies. 
All along the shore of the bay for twelve miles inland are strewn 
pianos, sofas, chairs, tables paving blocks and all sorts of broken 
lumber and debris from Galveston. 

" General Scurry detailed my party to bury the dead on a 
stretch of beach about two-and-one-half miles long. In that space 
we found fourteen bodies, all women and children but two. The 
hot sun beating down and the action of the water had caused 
decomposition to set in at once. They were horribly bloated, and 
the eyes and tongues protruding and the bosoms of the women 
Wrsting open. 

"^ None of the corpses had any clothing upon them. One man 



^42 THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 

had a leather belt about bis waist and tbe shreds of his trousers. 
The women were nude except that corsets and shoes still remained 
on some of them. All the lighter portions of the clothing had 
been beaten off by the water. There was no time foi indentifica- 
tion. We simply pulled them up on the beach and buried them 
It'here they lay. 

" It is frightful to think of. The bay is still full of floating 
Dodies. Forty-three were counted from the schooner I was on as 
we went down. Gangs of men are at work all the time under 
martial law burying as fast as they are cast up. 

" The city of Galveston is a v/reck. Not a building in the 
town escaped injury. The people there who went through the 
storm seemed dazed and in a sort of stupor. All they know is 
that they want to get away from the spot, and when they get 
on the mainland they go wild with joy. They are utterly be- 
wildered and demoralized. 

ARRESTED FOR ROBBING THE DEAD. 

" General McKibben had just arrived when I was there and 
martial law reigned. I was told that seventy ghouls had been 
arrested for robbing bodies and that they would be court-martialed 
and shot. The tramp steamer Kendal Castle is lying high and 
dry 200 feet from the water's edge. She is standing on an even 
keel, just as though she was at sea. General Scurry wanted a 
boat to go across to Galveston and informed the captain he was 
under martial law and his boats would be required. The boats were 
sent and General Scurry went across the bay in the captain's gig. 
'' The stench along the wharves in Galveston is something 
terrible, but the people are making every effort to dispose of every- 
thing that is putrifying. 

" The railroad and telegraphic companies are making tremeud- 
' ous efforts to get into Galveston. The Postal Telegraph Company 
has two wires strung down the Galveston, Houston and Henderson 
to the junction of the Texas Terminal. Below that not a pole was 
left. The Western Union is making rapid progress and will lay 
a cable across the bay." 



THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 243 

George Hall, a traveling man who lives at 133 Thomas avenue, 
this city, returned from Galveston yesterday morning, having 
passed through the terrible scenes enacted there during and after 
the storm. To a News representative he said last night : 

''I arrived at Galveston Friday afternoon, and my wife and 
little girl were to come down Saturday. At noon Saturday I 
noticed that the storm, which had been blowing all the morning, 
was getting worse. At that time I went to the tower of the 
Tremont Hotel and saw the waves rolling in toward the land. I 
^'.ook just one look over the city and came down. The wind 
increased in violence from that on and the rain fell in sheets, and 
I sent a telegram to my wife and advised her to stop in Houston. 
I think that was the last telegram that was sent from the island, 
as a few moments afterwards the girl told me the wires had 
snapped. The storm was accompanied by no thunder or lightning. 

CHILDREN CRYING AND WOMEN PRAYING. 

" About 4 o'clock the people who were able to get conveyances 
began to come in from the residence districts. The hotel did not 
serve any supper. From 6 to 10 o'clock was the worst of the storm, 
and during that time there was about 1200 people in the house. 
We were just as nearly like rats in a wire cage as anything could 
be. At 10 o'clock the water was four feet deep in the office, and it 
was certain death to go out doors. We were in pitch darkness all 
the time, although some one had secured one candle and set it up 
in the dining-room. Children were crying and women pra3nng 
and throwing their arms around the mens' knees and asking them 
to save them. It was certainly as horrible a night as any one ever 
put on earth. I have been on the road thirt}^ years, have been ir. 
all parts of the world, have had many hairbreadth escapes, but tlic}' 
did not amount to a snap of the fingers besides this. 

" We had one particularly hard gust that lasted about five 
minutes, and on looking at my watch I saw that was a little after 
10 o'clock. At 12 o'clock it had died down considerably, and the 
water fell two feet in about twenty minutes. 

" In the early morning we ventured out, although it rained 



244 THRILLING NARRATIVES BV EYE-WiTNESSES. 

most of tlie forenoon. In the afternoon I took a walk down to tlie 
beach which is ordinarily ten minutes' walk, but it took me an 
hour and one-half on this occasion. Once I slipped and twisted my 
ankle slightl}^ My foot came down on something soft, ind I found 
that it was tlie breast of an old man with long whiskers. 

"As J returned to the hotel I counted thirty-five bodies, five 
in one bunch. I saw a negro go out of a house with a load of bed- 
clothes and other stuff and a soldier stopped him. The man 
claimed that he had been sent there by the owners of the property 
I personally saw no looting. 

" I stayed there over Sunday night, and on Monday morning 
seven of us bunched together and paid a man $ioo to take us over 
the bay. On the way over we counted more than ninety bodies 
passing close to us, and on Sunday forenoon I believe there were 
about as many bodies in the bay as there were fish. I am certain 
in my own mind that I saw over looo bodies. 

STRONG MAN FAINTS. 

*' Early Sunday morning Jack Frost, of this city, walked into 
the Tremont Hotel, nearly naked and broken and bruised from 
head to foot. He fainted and was carried to a room and a doctor 
sent for. The doctors said that the bones of his right hand were 
broken, one clavicle broken and his left shoulder dislocated, besides 
being horribly bruised and mangled. Several inquiries from the 
doctors elicited the information that it was a close question of life 
and death when I left. He was caught at Murdock's pavilion when 
the storm came up, and could not get away. No one knows just 
where he landed." 

M. F. Smith, of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad 
was in Galveston during the hurricane and got home to Dallas yes- 
terday. He said that nothing he could say would convey an ade- 
quate idea of the storm. " I was in the Tremont Hotel Saturday 
when the hurricane began," he continued. "The water came up 
into the rotunda and the wind blew with fearful force. Eight hun- 
dred or a thousand people took refuge in the hotel. It was a scene 
(^f pathos to see the women and children with hardly any clothing, 



THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-Wll'NESSES. 246 

not knowing where relatives or children M^ere scattered about the 
corridors in deepest distress. It was remarkable that so few of 
them gave any outward sign or cry. Sunday morning the water 
was gone out of the rotunda and it was ankle deep in mud. I 
went out Tremont street to Avenue N^ , where I came to water. 
People were coming in toward the higher ground sick, wounded 
•and homeless. One hundred men were sworn in by the Mayor 
Sunday morning as a guard and relief work began at once. I 
came out Monday morning on the Charlotte M. Allen. From her 
I saw a barge loaded with corpses going to sea for burial and an* 
other at the dock was beiug loaded. A passenger on the Allen 
counted fifty floating bodies in the bay on the way up to Virginia 
Point. We had to walk to Texas City Junction and I saw Galves- 
ton paving blocks on the prairie north of Texas City." 

CAST UP BY THE HEAVY WAVES. 

Officers Williams and Curly Smith stated that the body of a 
woman that had been buried at sea on the east end was washed 
ashore on the beach near the foot of Tremont street. Attached to 
the body was a large rock weighing about 200 pounds. The body 
was carried to a place back from the water's edge and placed in a 
grave. 

While working with a gang of men clearing the wreckage of 
a large number of houses on Avenue O and Centre street to-day 
Mr. John Vincent found a live prairie dog locked in a drawer of a 
bureau. It was impossible to identify the house or the name of its 
former occupants, as several houses were piled together in a mass 
of brick and timber. The bureau was pulled out of the wreckage 
a few feet from the ground, where it had been buried beneath about 
ten feet of debris. The little animal seemed not to be worse for 
his experience of four days locked up in a drawer beneath a moun- 
tain of wreckage. It was taken home and fed by Mr. Vincent, who 
will hold the pet for its owner if the owner survived the storm. 

Some idea of the extent of the destructive path of the hurri- 
cane can be got from a view of the beach front east of Tremont 
street. Standing on the high ridge of debris that marks the line 



246 THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 

of devastation extending from the extreme west end to Tremont 
street an unobstructed view of the awful wreckage is presented. 

Drawing a line on the map of the city from the centre of Tre- 
mont street and Avenue P straight to Broadway and Thirteenth 
street where stands the partly demolished Sacred Heart Church, 
all the territory south and east of this line is leveled to the ground. 
The ridge of wreckage of the several hundred buildings that graced 
this section before the storm marks this line as accurately as if 
staked out by a 'surveying instrument. Every building within the 
large area was razed by the wind or force of the raging waters, or 
both. 

This territory embraces sixty-seven blocks and was a thickly 
populated district. Not a house withstood the storm and those that 
might have held together if dependent upon their own construction 
and foundations were buried beneath the stream of buildings and 
wreckage that swept like a wild sea from the east to the west, de- 
molishing hundreds of homes and carrying the unfortunate In- 
mates to their death either by drowning or from blows of the flying 
timbers and wreckage that filled the air. 

WIND A HUNDRED MILES AN HOUR. 

The strongest wind blew later in the evening, when it shifterl 
to the southeast and attained a velocity of from no to 120 miles 
an hour. The exact velocity was not recorded, owing to the de- 
struction of the wind gauge of the United States Weather Bureau 
after it had registered a loomiles-an-hour blow for two minutes. 
This terrific southeast wind blew the sea of debris inland and piled 
it up in a hill ranging from ten to twenty feet high and marking 
the line of the storm's path along the southeastern edge of the 
island. 

In one place near Tremont street and Avenue P four roofs and 
remnants of four houses are jammed within a space of about 
twenty-five feet square. Beneath this long ridge many hundred 
men, women and children were buried, and cattle, horses and dogs 
and other animals were piled together in one confused mass. While 
every house in the city or suburbs suffered more or less from the 



THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 247 

hurricane and encroachment of the Gulf waters, the above section 
suffered the most in being swept as clean as a desert. Another 
area extending east to Thirteenth street and soutli of Broadway to 
the Gulf suffered greatly, and few of the buildings withstood tlie 
storm, none without being damaged to a more or less extent. From 
Tremont street and Avenue P^ the wind came northward for 
about two blocks and then cut across westward to the extreme 
limits of the city ; in fact, swept clear on down the island for many 
miles. The path of the levelled ground v/est from Avenue P 
cleared the several blocks, extending south to the beach and west 
to Twenty-seventh street. It cut diagonally southwest on a straight 
line within three blocks of the beach and down west on the beach 
many miles beyond the city limits. This does not mean that the 
path of the storm was confined to this stretch of territory — not by 
any means. There were many blocks in the centre of the city 
almost totally demolished by the fury of the wind and sea, but the 
above long line of about four miles of the city proper and many 
miles of country land were swept clean of buildings and all other 
obstructions. 

NO VESTAGE LEFT OF BUILDINGS. 

A few of the piles that once supported the street-railway trestle 
extending from Centre street to Tremont street on the beach are 
all that remains to mark the curved line of right-of-way. Not a 
vestage of the three large bath-houses of Keef's Pagoda and Mur- 
dock is to be seen. 

The Midway, with its many old shacks and frame houses, con- 
cert halls and other resorts, was swept to the sea, and the Gulf 
now plays twenty feet north of where the Midway marked the 
beach line. The Olympia-by-the Sea likewise fell an early prey to 
the storm, and the surf which formerly kissed the elevated floor of 
the Olympia now sweeps across the electric railway track about 
fifteen feet north of the big circular building. On Tremont street 
and Avenue P^ two buildings stand, or rather two structures mark 
where two frame buildings battled with the raging elements. The 
two housc»s were occupied by Mr. Joseph Magilavaca and family 



248 THRILLING NARRAilVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 

and Mr. C. Nicolini and family. Botli houses were stripped oi 
every piece of furniture, wall-paper, window-frames and doors on 
the first floor and second floor remained intact. The houses were 
blown from their elevated foundations and dropped down on the 
ground and the sea washed the interior of the first floors almost uu 
to the ceilings. The families took refuge in a house across the: 
'«:treet, which gave way and was leveled almost to the ground, biit 
ali the inmates escaped with their lives. These two dwellings 
stand like charmed structures in the centre of the hurricaue'.s 
track. 

The Rosenburg School-house suffered severely on the cast 
side of the building. The roof of this wing fell in and carr,ed the 
second floor and nearly all of the south wall with it. It was re- 
ported that a number of people sought refuge in this building and 
that all of them escaped without serious injury. 

TO HASTEN ONE BRIDGE. 

The indications this morning are that there will be reasonably 
free intercourse with the outside world within ten days at the most, 
although those in charge of transportation lines are rapidly finding 
that the storm did more damage than they had at first calculated 
upon. At another conference the question of utilizing one of the 
railroad bridges across the bay and repairing that for the use of 
all lines prior to the repairing of the other bridges or the building 
of a steel bridge was practically settled. Colonel L. J. Polk, gene^ 
ral manager of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe, said that it"" was' 
reasonably certain that this would be done, all the roads concen- 
trating all their efforts to the completion of one bridge. In regard 
to his own line he said : 

" I do not know when the wrecking gangs will get to Vir- 
ginia Point. The statement I made to you yesterday that I 
expected we \vould have a train to the point to-day was based on 
information from the other side, but it appears that they did not 
know the amount of work there was before them. Practically they 
have to build a new track from Lamarque to the Point. 

"^We shall probably not reach the bay on the island side 



THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 249 

before Saturday, a^ the same conditions prevail, and we did not 
realize the immense damage the storm had done. 

"We have practically decided to unite in the repairing of one 
bridge for the use of all lines for the present. Our chief engineer, 
Mr. Felt, and Mr. Boschke, of the Southern Pacific, went to the 
mainland this morning to establish communication with the parties 
at interest who are on that side. J. M. Barr, third vice-president 
of the Santa Fe system, and James Dun, chief engineer of the sys- 
tem, both of Chicago, are on the mainland. They came down here 
to assist in any way they could in the re-establishment of the 
business." 

DAMAGE TO THE WHARVES. 

The wharf company did not suffer badly so far as the actual 
wharves are concerned, and it comes from General Manager Bailey 
that they will be ready to handle the business within seven or eight 
days. Of course a good deal of wharf flooring is torn up. The 
most serious damage was to the sheds, some of which are complete 
wrecks. Business can be done without sheds, and as long as the 
wharves themselves are in shape business can be done. With the 
rail lines established and running again, freight can move over the 
wharves. As a matter of fact coal was being discharged at the coal 
elevator at pier 34 yesterday. The West End wharves are all 
right, and some of these sheds are standing. Of course there is an 
immense amount of repair work to be done, but this need not inter- 
fere with the movement of freight. 

Secretary S. O. Young, of the Galveston Cotton Exchange 
and Board of Trade, said this morning that it would be three or 
four wrecks before quotations could be actually received here 
owing to the condition of the exchange building and the lack of 
wires over which to do business. The exchange building is pretty 
badly wrecked, the slate shingles having been carried away on one 
side early m the afternoon, which let in great floods of water and 
ruined the ceilings and walls. 

Dr. Young suffered several severe bruises as a resultof the storm 
and some of his employes are gone. His janitors are employed iii 



250 THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 

the public work of relieving tlie general situation. A good many- 
cotton men wlio had interests in the market left a day or so ago for 
Houston and New Orleans, where they could look out for their 
interests. 

The Masons started early Monday to furnish relief to their 
brethren. They established headquarters in the Masonic Temple., 
which was partly wrecked, and have furnished food and the neces- 
saries of life. All Masons in distress are asked to go to them. 
They bought provisions to the amount of $500 and have been dis- 
tributing what they had. A meeting this morning was held at 
the temple to organize a central relief committee for more system- 
atic work, now that the first distress has been relieved. 

LOSSES REPORTED EVERYWHERE. 

The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Company notified Chair- 
man Sealy of the relief committee that there was $5000 there for 
its use. The Santa Fe has suffered great loss itself and is a flood suf- 
ferer of great proportions in dollars and cents. Thomas Taylor, a 
cotton man, on Monday bought $500 worth of men's clothing, 
which he immediately distributed to the needy. The other men 
of means are coming forward with donations for permanent relief 

The Galveston Brewing Company suffered comparatively 
slight property loss, although it will amount into the thousands. 
Their utility was not impaired in the least, however, and they are 
making ice as fast as they can, and selling it at the regular Gal- 
veston rate 30c. per 100 pounds. During the storm the brewery 
building was the haven of between 300 and 500 people. The men 
employed at the establishment were instrumental in saving 
between seventy-five and 100 people during the storm by going 
out in it and swimming and wading as best they could, drag- 
ging the people into safety in the brewery. 

Captain Owens stated this morning that in the jumble of con- 
fusion mention of the practical destruction of the towns of Arcadia 
and Alta Loma had been omitted. At Arcadia there are about 
150 people living. Arthur Boddeker lost his life during the storm 
and two or three were hurt. At Alta Loma two children of Mr. 



THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EVE-WITNF:SSES. 251 

Steele were killed. There are six houses standing. All the gro- 
ceries at both places were damaged by water and these people are 
in great need of provisions, medicines and food for stock. 

One old man was found this morning who stated that he had 
one hundred kinfolks in Galveston and he is the only survivor. 

Galveston was a place where there were large families by 
intermarriage, many of which had been established when the city 
was but a village, fifty or more years ago. These had lived here 
and increased until a family of loo was not improbable in the 
least. The case of this old man is probably an extreme one in 
the line of annihilation, but others have lost almost as heavily. 

STEAMERS TORN FROM THEIR MOORINGS. 

General Agent Denison was unable to give any definite infor- 
mation about the movements of steamers out of Galveston. There 
are now three here. The Alamo is aground on the north side of 
the channel, having been torn from her moorings at the wharf dur- 
ing the storm and swept to her present position. 

Mr. Denison expressed the opinion that it might be possible 
that dredging would be necessary to relieve the steamer. The 
Oomal arrived in port Monday and berthed at pier 26, but was 
unable to discharge much cargo. She moved down into the roads 
Wednesday afternoon, driven there because of the stench at the 
wharves and the impossibility of doing any business. The Sabine 
arrived this morning and also anchored in the roads to await an 
opportunity to discharge. The wharf is in bad shape for the 
handling of cargo, being wet and muddy and torn up in a good 
many places. 

There was talk of urging Governor Sayers to call a sj^ecial 
session of the Legislature to take action to relieve the situation at 
Galveston. This was done by Governor Culberson in 1897 in the ^ 
case of El Paso, and is said to be sanctioned by the State Constitu- 
tion. Representative Dudly G. Wooten, of Dallas, said : 

" In regard to the necessity for a specially called session of 
the Legislature, it is dif&cult to speak intelligently unless we know 
all the conditions- So far as the immediate physical wants of the 



252 THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 

flood-stricken district are concerned, tne libeml contributions o( 
private charity will readily meet the emergency, as has been 
demonstrated by the generous manner in which the people every 
where, both in Texas and outside, have responded to the appeal."? 
for help. Food, money and all the necessaries to alleviate the pre- 
,sent distresses of Galveston and the adjacent coast are already II 
.,ight and being rapidly utilized. 

" But I think the most serious problem is the one of sanita^ 
tion. It must be borne in mind that the results of this flood are 
such as to create a condition that will inevitably produce a pesti- 
lence unless it is dealt with promptlv, intelligently and firmly. 
Not only Galveston Island, but all the ^owns on the mainland and 
all the coast for many miles have been subjected to an overflow 
that has left the country in a deplorable unsanitary condition. 
This is the season of the year when yellow fever, cholera and 
other epidemic diseases have usually originated and done their 
worst ravages. If a plague were to add its horrors to the fearful 
havoc of the winds and waves, then indeed would the coast be 
ruined, and the spread of the disease would speedily involve the 
whole State and the South generally, resulting in a paralysis of 
commerce and a state of terror and helplessness, the cost of which 
cannot be even approximated or imagined. 

CALL FOR MILITARY GUARDS. 

" The strictest police and sanitary discipline and vigilance will 
be required to prevent something of this kind, and that is where 
the possible necessity of a legislative appropriation may become 
imperative. There is practically no fund at the command of the 
State authorities for those purposes. If the volunteer militia is to 
be used to police the stricken districts, there is only a nominal sum 
at the disposal of the Governor and Adjutant-General. That fund 
would not last a week. 

" Besides, it is likely that a horde of vandals and vagabonds 
will congregate at the seat of the calamity to prey on the pro- 
visions and supplies that a generous public has contributed to the 
relief of the real sufferers. 



THRILT.mG NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 253 

" To establish and enforce proper sanitary regulations, remove 
the debris and sources of infection and maintain an effective police 
protection will require rigorous and intelligent organization under 
State control and adequately supported by public funds. It is not 
to be expected that the local authorities will be equal to these de- 
mands, for they are completely demoralized by the terrible calam- 
ity that has so recently swept over their country. They are 
exhausted, unnerved and broken in body, mind and spirit b}' the 
strain through which they have passed, and are in no condition to 
meet these after perils. This, in my judgment, is the phase of 
the problem that is most serious and may require legislative aid. 

HOW TO MEET THE EMERGENCY. 

" The cost of a special session, if the necessity exists, is not 
to be considered, for it is insignificant compared with the inestima- 
ble cost of the failure of the State to do its duty in the premises. 
Besides, the expense of a called session and of an adequate appro- 
priation would be distributed over the entire taxpaying population 
of the State and would be inappreciable on each taxpa3'er. It is 
fl.n emergency in which the responsibility for a mistake makes it a 
very troublesome question for the Governor. 

" If there is the danger that I speak of, and I think no doubt 
can be entertained as to that, delay may be fatal to any action to be 
hereafter taken, for if the plague should once take root and begin 
its work, no amount of outlay and vigilance can ever compensate 
tlie loss caused by a hesitating or dilatory polic3\ On the 
other hand, the contributions made and to be made and the 
agencies already at the command of the authorities may be ade- 
quate for the necessities. I do not personally know just what the 
conditions and resources may be, but if anything is to be done it 
must be done speedily, and the responsibility for errors is not a 
light one. I do not doubt that the Governor is in touch with the 
situation and will do his duty." 

General H. B. Stoddard, deputy grand master of the grand en- 
campment of Knights Templars of the United States, one of the 
most exalted positions in America, returned to Houston from a visit 



254 THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 

to Galveston and made his headquarters there. He went down to 
size lip the situation for the grand order of which he is the head. 
He was there two days, all of which time he used to get accurately 
at the facts. He moved about through the city to see for himself, 
and also talked to the prominent business men in order to reach a 
nearly accurate conclusion. He met prominent officials of his own 
and other orders, together with distinguished physicians. 

" I agree with statements that it is a terrible disaster, but I 
think some of the estimates have been made too high," said he. 
" I want you to bear in mind if m}^ investigation would indicate it, 
I would put the loss of life at au}^ figure, no matter how great." 

MACHINERY A COMPLETE LOSS. 

Major R. B. Baer, receiver of the Galveston City Street Rail- 
way, who is in this city now, says that to-day he telegraphed the 
Guarantee Trust Companj^, the owners of the property, that it 
would take $200,000 to $250,000 to repair the damage to the street 
railway. The powerhouse and machinery are a complete loss and 
seven miles of track is gone, as well as all of the trestle work. 

" After the storm and until I left Galveston 3'esterday I v/alked 
an average of ten miles a day," said Major Baer, "and I know 
there is hardly a building in the city that is not damaged, while 
the stocks of merchandise are damaged from 25 to 90 per cent. The 
Galveston, Houston and Northern and the Santa Fe both expect 
their roads to be open to Virginia Point by Saturday, and then some 
light draught steamboats will be put on to ply between Virginia 
Point and Galveston. Both of these roads will commence work on 
their bridges across the bay as soon as material can be gotten on 
the ground. The Santa Fe has now a force of 400 men working 
toward Virginia Point and a large force on the island repairing 
their track. The Southern Pacific is putting to work all the men 
they can get." 

One of the Texas journals made editorial comment as follows : 
" Duty is still all that all can do. Many of the survivors of the 
storm are ill, others bruised, wounded, broken, hungry and bread- 
less, others hapless orphans, too young to realize their sad condition 



THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WrrXESSES. 25?) 

There has never been in this country any other disaster to be com- 
pared with this. Where others have had to battle against wind or 
water, here the man and the woman and the child have found a 
dual foe — both wind and wave. Considering all the conditions and 
forces and dangers and dreadful results, it may be asserted without 
any word to modify the statement that this is the most grievous 
^calamity of modem times. 

TOO AWFUL FOR WORDS. 

" It is a stunning blow to every Texan whose heart is in the 
right place. It is a calamity so dread that no one can afford to stop 
to consider himself or his own wounds. The duty which one owes 
to others comes first. Many are too far away from the scene of 
desolation and death to do anything; but they are not too faraway 
to give something, and thus to help along the heartrending work 
which is now going on in Galveston and in other places along the 
coast. The work of uncovering bodies, of burying the dead, of 
supplying the needs of those who require assistance, is going on, 
and a beginning has been made in cleaning and clearing the city 
to prevent a general spread of sickness, which is sure to come un- 
less this work is thoroughly done. This task will require a week 
more, possibly many weeks more. 

" The removal of huge masses of bricks, stones, timber and 
decaying stock in large houses which have gone down is necessar- 
ily a slow business, yet this difiicult task must be performed before 
even the work of burying the dead can be completed. From the 
ruins of some houses of this kind scores of bodies are yet to be 
taken. Unless ample help is procurable this task is almost a hope- 
less undertaking. It is in order to repeat that it is a duty which 
must be performed without delay. So far Texans have responded 
[nobly. The same may be said of people the country over. The 
• main purpose is to keep before all the fact that the service of sym- 
pathy and mercy must be continued for a little whilo if the victims 
of the storm are to be saved and succored. 

"As an exchange says, the elements seem to have been wreak- 
ing vengeance on Texas this y. ar. lu April the Colorado and 



256 THRILLING NARRATIVES BY EYE-WITNESSES. 

Brazos Valleys were swept by floods, entailing great loss in life 
and property. Austin suffered severely. This flood followed a 
more disastrous one of last year, wliicli laid waste some of the bes*- 
farms in the State, destroyed crops too late for replanting, drowned 
thousands of cattle, horses, mules and hogs, and many people. 
With all these recent disasters Texas is in a more prosperous con- 
dition than the State has ever been in before, taking the whole 
country over. 

"While certain of the river valleys have been swept by flood 
the rich uplands, particularly those of north Texas, the orchard 
and garden lands of east Texas and of the coast country and the 
small grain and pasture lands of the west have brought forth 
abundant crops, and, speaking generally, the people are in a good 
way. The high prices for wheat, corn, cotton and other products 
of the field or ranch have told a hopeful story, and a wise change 
from the old-time one-crop habit has done much to help along. In 
spite of the disasters of this and of last year, barring the victims 
of the floods alluded to, the people of this State are in good condi- 
tion and quite ready to do all in their power to help along their 
less fortunate fellow citizens. 

TEXAS HAS IMMENSE TERRITORY. 

''Texas is a vast State, and this fact might make it appear 
that more storms or other direful visitations fell to the lot of this 
people than residents of other parts of the country find it necessary 
to endure. The fact is that many States have been visited by 
floods this season, and in some places floods are feared year after 
year. So it is of other destructive visitations. They must be 
expected now and then anywhere from Maine to California, or, for 
that matter, at any place the world around. There is only one 
thing to do about it. 

"People must prepare in advance for such troubles as far as 
possible and must stand ready to take the consequences and make 
the best of them. So it is now. So it will continue to be, here 
aud elsewhere. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Refugees Continue the Terrible Story — Rigid Military Patrol 

— The City in Darkness at Night — Hungry 

and Ragged Throngs. 

PERSONS who arrived in Dallas from Galveston not only con- 
firmed all that had been said before or written about the dis- 
aster there, but gave more details of the horror. Bach inter- 
view was more distressing than the one preceding it, and it seemed 
that even an approximate idea of the truth was yet to be given. 
Some accounts told of the deadly flood. Others told of the work 
of vandals and their speedy death at the hands of Uncle Sam's 
fighters, and of hunger and sickness, woe and misery. 

Newt M. Smith, of Dallas, who was sent to Galveston by the 
local insurance men c assist in the relief of the needy brethren in 
that city, was one of L:liose to return with important information. 

" When we arrived in Houston we were informed that no one 
A^ould be permitted on the train without a pass from Mayor Brash- 
ear, of Houston," he said. " We hunted the Mayor up and were 
told that 2000 passes had already been issued and that the train 
would carry only 800 people. We finally succeeded in getting on 
board without passes, some of the men climbing through the win- 
dows. Nearly all the dwellings and business houses of the small 
stations on the International and Great Northern between Houston 
Jind Galveston are either blown down or seriously damaged. 

"At certain places along the railroad every telegraph pole was 
down for a distance of one-half or three-quarters of a mile, poles 
and wires being across the track. Some twelve or fifteen miles this 
side of the ba}^ at one place I counted the carcasses of fourteen 
large cattle and horses that had drowned. Just before reaching 
Texas City Junction it was necessary for the passengers to abandon 
the train for the purpose of repairing and rebuilding a bridge 
across trestle which had washed away. Volunteers were called for 
17 257 



258 THRILLING TALES BY REFUGEES. 

to go into tlie mud and water, and more men volunteered than could 
get around tlie bridge timbers to replace tlieuj. 

"It required three or four hours in which tc repair the track at 
this point, during which some 250 passenger.^ left the train, taking 
with them their valises, jugs of water and provisions, and walked 
a distance of six miles through the mud and water to Texas 
jCity. About two and a half miles west of Texas City, and 
about two miles from the bay, out on tlje bald prairie, is a large 
dredge-boat. For fifteen miles back from the bay can be seen mil- 
lions of feet of debris of every description, including tops of houses, 
sashes, doors, pianos and pieces of household furniture of every 
kind. There were something over twenty-six bales of cotton that 
I counted out on the prairie inside of that distance, all compressed 
cotton which had evidently come from the wharf at Galveston. 

BURYING THE DEAD. 

" After arriving at Texas City we had to wait two or three 
hours for a boat, and during the time a number of the party 
walked down the beach and discovered and buried the bodies of 
eight men, women and children. A memorandum was taken 
describing as well as possible the people buried, and a head- 
board put up with a number corresponding to the one in the book. 
We left Texss City at 3.30 Tuesday evening, arriving at Galveston 
at 9.30. 

"While on the way over we discovered the bodies of several 
people and quite a number of horses and cows, and as we got off 
the boat, just under the wharf was a pile of twenty or twenty-five 
drowned people. Just after leaving the wharf we saw the remains 
of seven people which were being prepared for cremation. The 
town is under martial law, and on my way up to the city I was 
hailed by guards three different times, but after explaining I was 
permitted to proceed. 

'' I do not think the conditions at Galveston have been over- 
drawn by the newspaper reports. In fact, it is more deplorable 
than any words or picture could portray to the mind. Before we 
arrived several parties had been sho* for robbing the dead and loot- 



THRILLING TALKf^ r>V Rl^FUGLR^. ^"^9 

iug houses. Some of our party walked down tlic beach aud fouud 
a couple of white men who were breaking- open and robbing the 
trunks which had floated ashpre, taking the garments from them 
and drying them on the grass. These trunks contained all kinds 
of familj^ wearing apparel. 

" We found that all the insurance men of Galveston and their 
immediate families were safe excepting two married sisters of Mr. 
Harris, who were drowned with their eight children. They were 
drowned in their own yards and the bodies afterward recovered and 
buried there. The loss to the insurance companies from a finan- 
cial standpoint will be very heavy on account of the cancellation of 
policies under which there is now no liability, the houses having 
been destroyed. Again, a great many people who are indebted to 
the insurance agents cannot pay for the reason that they have lost 
everything. 

CITY WILL RECOVER FROM THE BLOW. 

"If the Government and the railroads will repair and rebuild 
their property in Galveston the cit}^ may recover from the blow, 
but nnless this is done there will be very slim chances for the city 
to attain the position as a commercial point it has heretofore held. 
The losses of life and accident insurance companies will be some- 
thing enormous. 

" What the people of Galveston need most, in my opinion, is 
lime and workingmen, especially carpenters and tinners. The citi- 
zens are fully aware of the sympathy they are receiving and the 
liberal manner in which the people of the country have come to 
their relief from a financial standpoint, but the immediate need is 
a sufficient number of hands to clean up the city and remove the 
debris. Among the important buildings destroyed were the cotton 
mills, baggage factory and the electric light and power houses, the 
large elevators and the Texas flouring mills, with several million 
bushels of wheat." 

W. E. Parry, of Dallas, was one of those who weathered the 
hurricane in the union depot at Galveston. He said that he was 
particularly fortunate, and did not even get wet. lu telling the 



260 THRILLING TALES BY REFUGEES. 

£tory of his experience lie said: " I left Houston Saturday morn- 
ing and knew nothing of the storm uutil we readied Virginia 
Point. The wind was blowing a gale and the water in the bay was 
high and a considerable sea running. We got over on Galveston 
Island at 10.30 and found the track washed out. A switch engine 
and a coach was sent to us and everybody, including the train crew, 
was transferred. The water was rising all this time and the wind 
was increasing in violence. The water got over the track and put 
out the fire in the engine, but the steam wasted long enough to get 
into the depot. While going in the train crew had to go ahead and 
push floating poles and ties and wreckage off the track. 

" We got to the depot at 2. 10 in the afternoon. The wind was 
still growing stronger and the air was full of sheets of water. The 
streets were waist-deep and the water was running like a millrace. 
We could see people wading around trying to collect their fiunilies 
and effects, and the bus was still running between the depot and 
the Tremont. I knew the depot was a new, strong building, aud I 
decided to stay there. 

GREAT GUSTS OF WIND. 
" Ever}^ gust of wind seemed fiercer and more wicked than 
an}^ It was blowing in a straight line from the northeast in great, 
vicious gusts, as if it would tear down everything. Soon the water 
came into the ground floor of the depot, and we had to go to the 
second floor. The wind kept increasing in velocity and began to 
blow the windows in, tearing out frames and all and throwing 
them across the rooms. Men went to work and put additional 
braces across the large panes of glass and wedged them tight with 
newspapers. 

" I saw a boy driving an express wagon, trying to reach the 
depot. A gust struck him, and over went the wagon, horse and all, 
the boy landing on the sidewalk. He was a nervy youngster and 
came back, and I could see the knife in his hand as he cut the horse 
loose in the water. He mounted and rode back to town. 

"Night came on, and still the storm grew worse and worse. 
No man can describe the pandemonium of sound. The wind would 



THRILLING TALES BY REFUGEES. 26 1 

yell and shriek until it resembled the cry of an enraged animal. 
All sorts of missies were flying through the air and clattering 
against the walls. Cornices, section of tin and thousands of slates 
from the roofs were flying every way. The instinct to escape was 
strong among all in that depot, and it was suggested that we join 
hands and try to make our way up town. I told those who wanted 
to go that they would be killed with flying slate, and it was de- 
cided to stay. 

"It is hard for men to sit still and do nothing when in mortal 
fear of their lives, and I saw men sit, clench their hands and set 
their teeth, and sweat breaking out all over them. It was an awful 
strain on the nerves. We reasoned that we were in as good a place 
as we could get, though no one expected to live through it. 

OLD GENTLEMAN WITH BAROMETER. 

" There was an old gentleman in the depot who seemed to be a 
scientist. He had a barometer with him, and every few minutes he 
would examine it by the solitary lantern that lit the room, and tell 
us it was still falling and the worst was yet to come. It was a dire- 
ful thing to say, and some of the crowd did not like it, but the in- 
strument seemed to be reliable. About 9 o'clock the old man ex- 
amined it and announced that it stood at 27.90. I give the figures 
for the benefit of any one who wants to know the reading at the 
heighth of the storm. He announced to the crowd that we were 
gone and that nothing could exist in such a storm. 

" At that time the hurricane was awful. Once in a while I 
could hear a muffled detonation, a sort of rumbling boom. I knew 
that it was a house falling, and it did not add to my comfort. There 
was no lightning or thunder, and at times the moon gave some 
light. The clouds did not appear to be up any distance, but to drag 
the ground. 

" About 10 o'clock the old man looked at his instrument and 
gave a whoop of joy : 'The worst has passed,' he shouted. ' We 
are all safe. The storm will soon be over.' Few took in the full 
meaning of his words for the wind was still a hurricane. Within 
almost as many minutes it had risen ten points and we felt safe. 



262 THRILLING TALES liY REFUGEES. 

" I went over the island the next clay and words can not 
describe what I saw. Everything was wrecked along the gulf 
front for three to four blocks back, the ground was clear and tht 
houses which had stood there were piled in a windrow which in 
many places must have been fifty feet high 

" What is needed is able-bodied, honest men to clean up this 
wreck and remove bodies and bury them. They want no idlers or 
surplus people to feed and protect. Disinfectants to purify the 
streets from the slime and silt left by the water are necessary. 

" I saw 600 bodies in an undertaker's house. I saw them 
loaded on floats, piled up like cotton, black and white alike, with 
arms and limbs sticking out in every direction. I must have 
seen nearly a thousand bodies along the wharves and coming 
across the bay. It was frightful." 

ON THE BOAT ALL NIGHT. 

T. L. Monagan, of Dallas, who went down with the Dallas 
relief committee, returned and said : "We got there by wagon and 
boat about 10 o'clock Tuesday night and remained on the boat 
during the night. We went over to the hotel in the morning and 
f ou nd relief work well organized. They need men to clean the debris 
out of the streets and to get the city cleaned up. They are dispos- 
ing of the dead as fast as possible, and the safety of the living 
precludes any delay for identification. Many are being buried at 
sea and some cremated. 

" We went over the city and along the gulf front saw the im- 
mense windrow of wrecked houses. Not a street from Tenth to 
Twenty-Third was so we could get through. The ground fronting 
the beach is clear of houses the whole length of the city. The 
Denver Resurvey was washed away. In my opinion the salt 
meadow to the southwest of Virginia Point on the mainland must 
be covered with dead and wreckage. It is an awful thing and it 
will be thirty days before they can get in _ shape down there at the 
present rate." 

F. McCrillis arrived from Galveston. He was in the storm 
and saw the frightful destruction. He said: "The relief com- 



THRILLING TALES BY REFUGEES. 263 

mittees -ire doing noble work on the island. The people of Galves- 
ton ar'? rising to the occasion and I never saw braver, stronger- 
hearted or more intelligent men. It is wonderful the way they 
face the fearful disaster. They have made no mistakes. 

"Some negroes were killed for looting, but since that time it 
has stopped. The work of cleaning up is being pushed as rapidly 
as possible. Every Galvestonian is confident that the city will 
rise from the disaster and sustain its commercial and industrial 
position." 

HON. MORRIS SHEPPARD'S ACCOUNT. 

Hon. Morris Sheppard, son of Congressman John L. Shep- 
pard, returned to Texarkana from Galveston, sound and well, 
though a little broken up from the shock. When seen he said 
concerning his experience in the Galveston storm : 

" I had gone there to address the Woodmen Saturday night, 
but the weather got so bad I concluded to leave. I went to the 
Union Depot about 5 o'clock to catch a train that was to leave for 
Houston a little later. When the storm broke we all ran up stairs. 
There were about 100 men and three ladies, and all remained in 
one room for thirteen hours. While the storm was at its height 
and the waters were wildest a number of men in one corner of the 
room struck up the familiar hymn, 'Jesus Lover of My Soul,' 
and sang with great effect, especially the lines ' While the nearer 
waters roll, while the tempest still is high,' etc. 

" We all expected death momentarily, jet nearly all seemed 
resigned ; several actually slept. The wind ripped up the iron 
roof of the depot building as though it were paper. A wooden 
plank was driven through the iron hull of the Whitehall, a large 
English merchantman, whose captain said that in his experience of 
twenty-five years he had never before known such a fearful hurri- 
cane. One lady clung to her pet pug dog through it all, and landed' 
him safely at Houston Monday morning. When da3dight finally 
came, an old, gray-bearded man was seen near the building wading 
in water to his armpits. We hailed him and requested him to get 
us a boat. He turned upon us and cursed us with a perfect flood 



264 THRITXING TALES EY REFUGEES. 

of oatlis, then turning around walked deliberately out into the bay 
.nd was swept away." 

APPEAL TO COLORED PEOPLE. 

Professor ?T. C. Bell, of Denton, Grand Master of the Colored 
Odd Fellows, issued the following self-explanatory circular : 

" To the Lodges and Members of the Grand United Order of 
Odd Fellows in Texas : Dear Brethren — The greatest calamity 
that has ever visited any city in America visited Galveston on the 
8th instant, leaving in its wake thousands of dead and helpless 
people of our race, together with the white race. It is our duty to 
help, as far as we are able, to relieve the suffering condition of the 
citizens of Galveston. It goes without saying that the white citi- 
zens of Texas have always contributed freely to ameliorate and 
alleviate suffering humanity ; it is, therefore, our bounden duty, 
and, indeed, this is a most fitting opportunity for us, as members 
of the greatest negro organization in the world, to show to our 
white fellow-citizens of Texas the charitable spirit that has always 
characterized Odd Fellows. Besides this, many members of our 
fraternit}^ are victims of the direful storm of the 8th instant at 
Galveston. Thej^ appeal for our assistance. Therefore, I, H. C. 
Bell, do issue this appeal to the lodges and members for relief 
for our brethren in Galveston." 

The well-known writer and correspondent, Joel Chandler 
Harris, writing from Galveston, says : 

" As was naturally to be expected, the facts already brought in 
light show that the devastation wrought at Galveston and other 
coast towns in Texas by the unhappy conjunction of wind and sea 
outrun and overmatch the wildest conjectures of those who were 
calm enough immediately after the event to give out such estimates 
as tallied with what their own eyes had seen. 

" The tremendous loss of life which has been verified by all 
accounts gives this harrowing catastrophe a first place among 
events of the kind. Indeed, among modern disasters it has an 
awful pre-eminence, and this fact lends wings to a suggestion which 
I should like to emphasize. 



THRITJJNG TALES BY REFUGEES. . 265 

" It is this : If the horror of the calamit}^ is to be measured 
by the loss of life, the same measure should be applied to the 
pressing necessities of those who have been stripped of everything 
save life. However much we niaj^ deplore the loss of life, the dead 
are done for. They are be3'ond and above the crying demands and 
necessities which press upon those who are left alive. 

" In the nature of things, the condition of thousands of those 
who have been spared is far more pitiable than that of the dead. 
Their resources have been swept awa}^ by wind and tide, and they 
are desolate in the midst of desolation. The catastrophe was so 
vast in extent and so furious in its sweep that it will be many a 
long day before the survivors are able to recover from its effects. 

NEVER ^VEARY OF GIVING. 

" Outside aid is absolutely necessar}^ in order to prevent suf 
fering even greater than that which accompanied the outburst of 
the elements. The large-hearted public is never weary of giving 
in cases where the necessity of giving is absolute. With the Amer- 
ican public S3nnpathy and pit}' provoke unbounded generosit3^ 

"All geographical lines, all differences are completely broken 
down by anj^ emergency' which stirs the tender heart of the people. 
But it frequently happens that this native generosity is not as 
prompt to act as necessity demands, especially in cases where the 
least delay adds to the suffering of those who have been left helpless. 
No tongue can tell, and no pen can describe the awful results of a 
storm such as that which has visited the Texas coast. 

" The sea island of the South Atlantic coast had a similar visi- 
tation several years ago, and the present writer was commissioned 
to visit the scene and depict the results. He arrived upon the 
ground more than a fortnight after the hurricane had passed 
through the islands, and though Miss Clara Barton and her as.sist- 
ants of the Red Cross Society had been able to get in touch with 
the sufferers more promptly than usual, there were many still 
on the point of starvation. No doubt many perished within sight 
and hearing of the succor which the public and the Red Cross 
Society were so anxious to give. 



266 TriRILJJNG TALES BY REFUGEES. 

" Fortunately, the islands are but sparsely populated, as com- 
pared witli the region which has recently been devasted, and in 
consequence, there was far less suffering than is to-day to be found 
in the track of the hurricane which has just wiped out whole com- 
munities and caused such an extraordinary loss of life. If the 
fact to be emphasized and insisted on is that it was necessary for 
generosity to act promptly after the sea island catastrophe, there 
is a far greater necessity for promptness in the present emergency, 
owing to the larger number of people involved. 

REFUSED TO BELIEVE THE TIDINGS. 

" The difficulty in the case of the sea island hurricane was that 
a large number of conservative people — the very class which may be 
depended on to respond most liberally to appeals in behalf of the 
unfortunate — refused to believe the stories sent out by the press 
agents and newspaper correspondents who made haste to visit the 
scene of disaster, placing them in the category of newspaper sen- 
sations. 

" The fact remains, however, that the naked details of the sea 
island hurricane never were put in possession of the public. Curi- 
ous incidents and queer results were dwelt upon and described, but 
a detailed account of the effects of that storm has never been 
printed. Those who have never visited the scene of one of these 
elemental disturbances can have no idea of the extent of the havoc 
and ruin wrought by them. The results must be seen and felt 
before they can be understood and appreciated. 

" They are of such a character as to elude and evade all efforts 
at description. All the newspapers can do is to give a bald account 
of incidents. 

" But to-day we are face to face with- a few of the horrors of a 
calamity that outdoes any similar visitation with which the nation 
is familiar. The situation in the afflicted territory is piteous in 
the extreme. And may the nation's blessing rest on all who give 
succor to those stricken by this awful hurricane curse of the sunny 
southland." 

" It would be difficult to exaggerate the awful scene that meets 



THRILTJNG TALES BY REFUGEES. 267 

the visitors everywhere," said Clara Barton, after arriving in Gal 
veston. " The situation could not be exaggerated. Probably the 
loss o[ life will exceed any estimate that has been made. 

" In those parts of the city where destruction was the greatest 
there must still be hundreds of bodies under the debriL. At the 
end of the island first struck by the storm, and which was swept 
clean of every vestige of the splendid residences that covered it, 
the ruin is inclosed by a towering wall of debris, under which 
many bodies are buried. The removal of this has scarcely even 
begun. 

PEOPLE DAZED INTO CALM. 

''The story that will be told when this mountain of ruins is 
removed may multiply the horrors of the fearful situation. As 
usual in great calamities the people are dazed and speak of their 
losses with an unnatural calmness that would astonish those who 
do not understand it. 

" I do believe there is danger of an epidemic. But the nervous 
strain upon the people, as they come to realize their condition may 
be nearly as fatal. They talk of friends that are gone with tear- 
less eyes, making no allusion to the loss of property. 

" A professional gentleman who called upon me this after- 
noon, a gentleman of splendid human sympathies and refinement, 
wore a soiled black flannel shirt, without a coat, and in apologizing 
for his appearance said in the most casual, light-hearted way : 
'Excuse my appearance: I have just come in from burying the 
dead.' 

" But these people will break down under this strain, and the 
Red Cross is glad of the force of strong, competent workers which 
it has brought to its relief. 

" Portions of the business part of the city escaped the great- 
est severity of the storm and are left partially intact. Thus it is 
possible to purchase here nearly all the supplies that may be 
wanting. Still, the Galveston merchants should be given the' 
benefit of home demands. 

" Mayor Jones has offered to the Red Cross as headquarters 



268 THRILLING TALES BY REFUGEES. 

tlie best building at his disposal. Relief is coming as rapidly as 
the crippled transportation facilities will admit. No one need fear, 
after seeing the brave and manly way in which these people are 
helping themselves, that too much outside aid will be given." 

Reported dead several times, their obituaries printed in Gal 
veston and Houston, Peter Boss, wife and son, formerly of Chicago, 
were found, after having passed through a most thrilling expe^ 
rience. 

TRIED TO ESCAPE WITH HER MONEY. 

Mrs. Boss' story of her experience in the disaster Mas a thrill- 
ing one. With her husband and son she was seated at supper in 
her home on Twelfth street when the storm broke. She seized a 
handkerchief containing $2000 from a bureau, and, placing it in 
her bosom, went with her husband and the son to the second 
story. 

There they remained until the water reached them and they 
leaped into the darkness and the storm. They lit on a wooden 
cistern upon which they rode the entire night, clinging with one 
hand to the top of the cistern. Several times Mrs. Boss lost her 
hold and fell back into the water, only to be drawn up again by her 
son. Timbers crashed against their queer boat, people on all sides 
of them were crushed to death or drawn into the whirling waters, 
but with grim perseverance the Boss faniil}^ held on and rode the 
night out. 

Mrs. Boss was pushed off the cistern several times by her 
excited husband, but young Boss' presence of mind alwa3'S saved 
her. With her feet crushed and bleeding, her clothing torn from 
her body and nearly exhausted, the woman was finally taken from 
her perilous position several hours after the hurricane started. 

Her companions were without clothing and were delirious. 
They were the ouly persons saved from the entire block in which 
they lived. They were taken to emergency hospitals, where they 
all tossed in delirium until Sunday. Mrs. Boss lost her money, 
and the family, wealthy a week before, was penniless. They had 
to appeal to the city authorities for aid, and got but little, 



THRILLING TALF.S };V REFUGEES. 2oti 

A Chicago journal estalilislicd a Relief Bureau at Galveston, 
and sent tliithcr a special commissioner who, under date of Sep- 
tember 15, gave the following account : 

''I spent part of last night with the Chicago American Relief 
Bureau. I had no business there. The nurses and doctors had 
done all there was to do. They have worked like great big-spirited 
Trojans. The babies were all abed and asleep. The women were 
fed and the homeless and destitute men who had wandered in for 
shelter had been tucked away in the gallery and made as comfort- 
able as possible. 

A HEROIC LAD. 

"The gas was out in the great theatre, and a few candles shed 
a flickering light. A lad told this story : He lost ever}^ one 
on earth he loved and who loved him in the flood. He swam 
two miles and over with his little brother on his back, and then 
saw his brother killed by a piece of falling timber after the}^ had 
reached dry land and what he supposed was safety. 

" He is sixteen years old, this boy of mine ; tall and strong in 
every waj', and when he had dug a shallow grave in the sand for 
his little brother he went up and down the prairies and buried 
those he found. Alone in the declining sun, without food or 
water, impelled by some vague instinct to do something for some 
one, this boy did this, and yesterday they found him fainting in a 
field and brought him to us. We put him to bed, made him take 
a bowl of soup and gave him a bath. 

" He seemed perfectly amazed at the idea that any one should 
want to do anything for him. We only got his story out of him 
b}^ persistent and earnest questioning. He said there was none 
to tell. Last night he was talking in his sleep. 

" ' That's all right, Charley,' he said over and over again. 
' Brother won't let you get hurt. Don't you be scared, Charle}^, 
and I will save you]' and he threw his arms out and about as if he 
was swimming. 

" Hour after hour he swam and hour after hour he comforted 
his little brother, and when T laid my hand on his forehead and he 



270 THRILLING TALES BY REFUGEES. 

woke and remembered wliere he was, he smiled up into ni}'' face as 
a tired child would smile into the face of one he loved, and went to 
sleep and began to swim through the black and troubled waters 
with Charley on his strong young shoulders again. 

" He is utterly alone in the world now. The doctors are a 
little afraid of brain fever for him, but I believe we can stave it off, 
and if we can we are going to keep him in the relief corps and 
give him work and something to do and live for as long as we are 
here. His name is on the list of patients published with this arti- 
cle. If anj'one who sees it remembers and wants to befriend this 
boy telegraph to the American Felief Bureau at Houston and we 
will attend to it. 

HUNGRY AND HALF CLAD. 

" There was a new part}^ of them which came in last night 
late from Galveston. About fifty came in after lo o'clock, hungry, 
half clad and worn to the very edge of human endurance. They 
stood timidly at the door and one of them begged for shelter as if 
she thought she would be refused. Most of our cots with mat- 
tresses in them were taken, but that did not make any difference. 
Dr. Bloch, of Chicago, and Dr. O'Brien, of New York, got their 
heads together and in less than half an hour every one of those 
fifty people had some sort of a bed ^.o sleep on and in three-quarters 
of an hour they were all fed. 

" We engaged two cooks, a man and a woman, yesterday, but 
neither of them came. That did not make the slightest particle 
of difference. Whoever was hungry was fed at the relief station, 
and whoever was naked was clothed and whoever was sick was 
attended. Nobody knew or cared how long they had been work- 
ing or whether they themselves had time to gef a morsel of food. 
Everybody did everything. I saw Dr. O'Brien down on his knees 
taking off a pair of soaked shoes for a woman who was so tired she 
could not lift her hand to her head. 

"The fear of pestilence has become so widespread that the au- 
thorities are taking measures to prevent a wholesale exodus of able- 
bodied men, whose services are urgently needed at the present time. 



THRILLING TALES BY REFUGEES. 271 

The dread of plague has seized upon the negro population so 
strongly that in some instances they refuse to work in cleaning up 
the city. 

'' The tidal wave caused a heavier loss of life along the coast 
west of Galveston than was at first supposed. Scores of corpses 
are being found lying along the beach. Some of the bodies may 
be those who were buried at sea from Galveston and floated into 
shore again, but the position of many shows that th^y were natives 
of the little coast towns suburban to Galveston. When more order 
is made at Galveston attention will be turned to those places and 
the bodies of the dead there will be buried or burned. 

" The work of disposing of the bodies is being expedited as 
rapidly as possible, but the crying need is disinfectants. Hundreds 
of barrels of lime are being asked for in order to prevent contagion. 
Health officers say that the worst is to be feared from the small 
pools of stagnant water which fill cellars of the wrecked houses 
and the clogged drainage system. 

CLOTHING AND PROVISIONS. 

**The Chicago corps of surgeons and nurses, under Dr. L. D. 
Johnson, buried thirty-two bodies between the hours of i A.' M. 
and 8 A. M. to-day in Alvin, Hitchcock and Seabrook, and gave 
provisions, clothing and medicine to 300. Its members also at- 
tended to twent3^-six persons suffering from broken bones, cuts and 
other wounds requiring surgical work, and nursed more than fift}^ 

" This is considered the greatest piece of relief work done 
since the storm. The bodies buried had been lying in the fields a 
week, and were decomposed and spreading disease germs. An extra 
car of provisions is being shipped to that district. 

" Insanity is developing among the sufferers at a terrible rate. 
It is estimated by the medical authorities that there are 500 de- 
ranged men and women who should be in asj^ums, and the numbei 
is increasing. These poor creatures form the most pitiable side of 
Galveston's horror. They stand in groups and cry hysterically. 
They are harmless, for their troubles have left them without 
strength to do harm. 



272 THRILLING TALES BY REFUGEES. 

" Mentall}^ iiubalanced b}^ the suddenness and horror of their 
\osses, men and women meet on the streets and compare their 
'osses and then laugh the laugh of insanity as a newcomer joins 
the group and tells possibly of a loss greater than that of the 
others. Their laughter is something to chill the blood in the veins 
of the strongest men. They are maddened with sorrow^, and do 
not realize their losses as they will when reason returns, if it ever 
returns. 

" Some of them are absolute raving maniacs. One man, 
Charles Thompson, a gardener, as soon as he was out of personal 
danger that awful night, commenced rescuing women and children, 
and saved seventy people. He then lost his mind. Two police- 
men were detailed to capture him, but he heard them approaching 
and leaped from the third-story window of an adjoining building 
and escaped. 

THE YOUNGEST NURSE. 

"The Chicago Relief Corps has the youngest, and, consider- 
ing her years, most efficient nurse among the hundreds engaged in 
relief work. She is Rosalea Glenn, eleven years old, a refugee 
from Morgan Point. Together wuth her mother, Mrs. Minnie F. 
Glenn, and two smaller children, she w^as received at the hospital 
last night. 

"To-day Rosalea asked to be assigned to part of one of the 
wards. She astonished trained nurses by her cleverness, and her 
services proved as valuable as those of any one on the force. She 
is now the hospital pet. Her father is Albert W. Glenn, a boat- 
man. The home of the Glenns was washed away, but the family 
were saved by a flight of seven miles into the country. 

"Some of the advertisements in the Galveston News are very 
striking. Garbadee, Iban & Co. make this announcement : ' Our 
help has generously volunteered to work to-day to assist the neces- 
sities of the flood sufferers. Our store will open from 9 A. M. un- 
til 5 P. M. Orders from the Relief Committee will be filled.' 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Dead Babes Floating in the Waters — Sharp Crack of 
Soldiers' Rifles— Tears Mingle With the Flood- 
Doctors and Nurses for the Sick and Dying. 

ONE of the most harrowing experiences during the scene of 
destruction and death at Galveston was that of a young lady 
belonging to Elgin, Illinois. Stamped upon her mind until 
she shuddered and cried aloud, that she might forget all its horrors 
and terrible memories, Miss Pixley stood in the Dearborn Street 
vStation and told of the Galveston flood. Surrounded by her rela- 
tives and friends who had given her up as dead, Miss Pixley, who 
was the first arrival from the storm swept district, told her story 
between outbursts of bitter tears. 

" Oh, those eyes," she cried, '' that I might put them from my 
mind. I can see those little children, mere babies, go floating by 
my place of refuge, dead, dead ! God alone knows the suff"ering I 
went through. Thousands, yes, thousands, of poor souls ^\ere 
carried over the brink of death in the twinkling of an e}^^ and 
saw it all." 

MISS PIXLEY'S GRAPHIC STORY. 

This is her story, as she told it : "I had been in Galveston foi 
about six weeks, visiting Miss Lulu George, who lives on Thucy- 
fifth street. It was not until after the noon hour of Saturday that 
we were frightened. Buildings had gone down as mere egg shells 
before that death-dealing wind. 

" About 1.30 o'clock I told Miss George that we must make 
our way to another building about half a block away. The water 
had risen over five feet in two hours, and as I hurried to the front 
door the wind tore down my hair and I was blinded for a time. 

" I turned my eyes to the west and for three long miles there 
was not a building standing, everything had been swept away. 
18 273 



27i RELir-l- WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYING. 

How we ever reached the two-story building a hundred yards away 
1 uo not know. We waded through the water and every few min- 
utes we were carried off our feet and dashed against the floating 

debris. 

ALMOST DROWNED IN CELLAR. 

" The building we were trying to reach was a store and the 
foundation kept out the water. We hurried to the cellar and stayed 
there for several hours. At last the wind-swept waves found an 
opening and broke through the foundation and we had a mad run 
to escape the rushing, swirling waters. 

" We reached the first floor and I shrank into a corner, expect 
ing ever}^ second to be carried out to my death. How it happened 
I can never tell, but this and one other building were the only ones 
left for blocks around. As it was, several people were killed in the 
building we occupied and the other house that was left standing. 

" After a time I felt faint from hunger and, while too weak from 
fright to seek food, I told Miss George that I would go into another 
room. I staggered along the floor until I reached a window, and 
fell, half fainting, through it. As I leaned there I witnessed sights 
that I pray God will never make another see. 

BLOOD-CHILLING SCENES. 

" Whirling by me, bodies, more than I could dare count, were 
crushed and mangled between a jumble of timbers and debris. 
Men, women and children went by, sinking, floating, dashing on I 
know not where. I wanted to close my eyes, but I could not. I 
cried aloud and made an attempt to go to my friends, but I was 
exhausted, and all I could do was to watch the terrible scenes, 

" Babies, oh, such pretty little ones, too, were carried on and 
i.m, gowned in dainty clothing, their eyes open, staring in mute 
'terror above. Thank Providence they were dead. I was partly 
blinded by tears, buL I could still see through the mist. Little 
arms seemed to stretch toward me asking assistance and there I 
lay, half prostrated, too weak to lend assistance. 

" How it all ended I know not. I must have fainted for I 
awakened with ' We are saved, Alice,' ringing in my ears. 



RELIIvF WORK FOR iHlv SICK AND DYlNO. 275 

FLEES FROM HORRIBLE SIGHTS. 

" Wheu I found we could get out of the city I declared I would 
go at all cost. I thought of home and my parents and I wanted to 
telegraph, just like thousands of others, that I was safe. 

" It was days before we could g^et away, however, and then it 
was in a most terrible confusion. Eighty-eight persons crowded on 
a small boat and started for Houston. 

" The day we left the militia was out in all its force. I could 
hear the sharp reports of a rifle and the wail of some soul as he 
paid the penalty for his thieving operations. 

" Later I saw the soldiers with their glistening rifles leveled 
at scores of men and saw them topple forward dead. Oh, they had 
to shoot those terrible beasts, for they were robbing the dead. They 
groveled in blood, it seemed. 

"I saw with my own eyes the lingers of women cut off by 
reo-ular demons in the search for jewels. The soldiers came and 
killed them and it was well. 

HUMAN BODIES IN FIRE HEAP. 

" As we made uur way toward the boat that was to take ns 
from the City of Death I saw great clouds of smoke rising in the 
air. Upon the top of flaming boards thousands of bodies were 
being reduced to ashes. 

" It was best, for the odor that arose from the dead bodies was 
awful. Still it made one's heart ache with a sorrow never to be 
equaled as one witnessed little children tossed into the midst of 
the hissing flames. Do you wonder I cry ? 

" Before me, no matter which way I turned, I could see dead 
todies, their cold eyes gazing at me with staring intentness. I 
closed my eyes and stumbled forward, hoping I might escape for 
ii moment the sight of dead bodies, but no ; the moment I would 
open them again, right at my feet I would find the form of some 
poor creature. 

" Coming to Chicago on the train I read the papers. They 
are mistaken, away wrong. They only say 5,000 dead. It will be 
uiore than 10,000. I know I am right; every one in Galveston 



270 REUKF WORK FOR THR SICK AND DYING. 

talks of 12,000, 15,000 and 18,000 dead, but it will be 10,000 at the 
very least. 

" I believe the worst sight I witnessed was the 2,800 bodies 
being carried out to sea and buried in the gulf. Huge barges were 
tied to the wharfs and loaded with the unknown dead. As fast as 
one barge was filled it made its wa}^ out from the shore, and weight- 
ing the bodies, men cast them into the water." 

I. Thompson, a young man who was very active in saving life 
during the night of the storm, became insane because of the awful 
scenes he witnessed. Thompson's friends first noticed his condi- 
tion when he told that one of the persons he rescued had deposited 
$10,000 in one of the banks to his credit, and that he was going to 
live in luxury the rest of his life. 

TRAGIC INCIDENTS. 

Thompson retired to his room, on the third floor of the Wash- 
ington Hotel, seemingly sane. Soon afterwards he began to moan, 
and soon became violent, rushing from one side of his room to the 
other and declaring his determination to commit suicide. Em- 
ployes of the hotel did all they could to pacif}^ the man, and during 
the night he became more rational and lay down. The person 
engaged to watch him was compelled to leave the room for a short 
time earl}^ in the morning, and when he returned he found that 
Thompson had wrenched the shutters off his window and leaped 
out upon an awning and thence to the street. 

Thompson was seen to run toward the bay, and in all proba- 
bility he threw himself overboard and was drowned, as he was not 
seen or heard of afterward. 

Another case is that of a 3'oung woman who was caught in 
the rain, and^ with two other women and about fift}'- men and boys, 
found refuge in an oflice. It was with the utmost difficult}^ she 
could restrain herself during the fearful storm, and she frequentl}^ 
became h3^sterical and cried out for her mother, sisters and her 
brother and his famil}^ As the storm gradually subsided the 
j'oung woman became more calm, and when morning broke she 
started for her home quite reassured. She found a wild waste of 



RELIKF WORK FOR THE SIGK AND DYING. 277 

waters swee^.-ing over the site of lier home. Her dear ones were 
missing. 

Among the first victims carried into the temporary morgue were 
the young woman's mother, brother and two children. These were 
quickly followed b}^ her brother's wife and her two sisters. The 
shock overthrew the girl's reason, and she became a nervous 
"wreck, without a relative in the world. 

i Hundreds of such tragic incidents as these marked the week, 
and the number of men and women who lost their reason was very 
large. 

HARROWING TALES TOLD BY SURVIVORS. 

Many strange incidents of the hurricane were gathered from 
the tales of the survivors. They told of pitiable deaths, of fearful 
destructions of property and of strange incidents of the great force 
of the storm. The following are just a few of the many that were 
told by refugees in this city : 

One of the most remarkable escape? recorded during the flood 
was that of a United States batter3nnan on duty at the forts, who 
had been picked up on Alorgan's Point, wounded but alive. He 
had buffeted the waves for five days and lived through a terrible 
experience. Morgan's Point is thirty miles from Galveston. 

Another man who passed though a similar experience was 
found floating on the roof of a house on the open sea, over one 
hundred miles distant from Galveston. He was half famished, 
but quickly recovered upon being taken aboard. 

Dr. H. C. Buckner, of the Buckner Orphan's Home at Dallas, 
brought with him from Galveston thirty-six little children who 
were made homeless, fatherless and motherless by the storm. 
Many of the children were suffering from cuts and bruises, and all 
were destitute of clothing except the tattered and torn garments 
which they had on their backs. They were taken to the Child-, 
ren's Hospital in Haskell avenue, in Dallas, to have their wounds 
treated and to recuperate before being sent to the home proper, six 
miles east of the city. The children are from all walks of life, 
and were taker^ in charge by Dr. Buckner while in Galveston as 
the ones most in need of immediate attention. 



278 RELIEF WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYTN(i. 

Reports show that three-fourths of the Velasco people lost 
their homes and four persons were drowned. Eight bodies were 
washed ashore at Surfside, supposed to be from Galveston. At 
Quintana 75 per cent, of the buildings arc destro3-ed. No lives 
were lost there, though a number were injnred. Velasco has 
hardly a house that will bear inspection. People are suffering for 
the necessities of life and many who are sick need medicines. 

At Seabrooke, Texas, thirty-three out of thirty-four houses 
floated away and twenty-one people were drowned. At Hitchcock 
a large pile-driver of the Southern Pacific works at Galveston, and 
also a large barge partly laden with coal, are lying in the pear 
orchards several miles from the coast. Box cars, railway iron, 
drawbridges, houses, schooners and all conceivable things are lying 
over the prairie, some fifteen miles from their former location. 

A TRAGIC WEDDING CEREMONY. 

At the Tremont Hotel in Galveston a wedding occurred 
Thursday night, which v. as not attended with music and flowers 
and a gathering of merrymaking friends and relatives. Mrs. 
Brice Roberts had expected some day to marry Earnest IMayo. 
The storm which desolated so many homes deprived her of almost 
everything on earth — father, mother, sister and brother. She was 
left destitute. Her sweetheart, too, was a sufferer. He lost much 
of his possessions in Dickinson, but he stepped bravely forward 
and took his sweetheart to his home. 

A pathetic stor}^ of the Galveston flood is that of Mrs. Mary 
Oua3de, of Liveipool, England, who is now on her journey home. 
She had only been two days in the city with her husband when 
the storm came. She goes home, her husband dead, and herself a 
nervous wreck. Mr. and Mrs. Ouayle had taken apartments in 
Eucas terrace, Galveston. During the storm Mr. Quajde went to 
a window, when a sudden burst of wind tore out the panes and 
sucked him, as it were, out of the house. Mrs. Quayle, in the rear 
of the room, was thrown against a wall and stunned. No trace of 
her husband's body has been found. 

It will be a long time before many of the survivors of the Gal- 



RELIEF WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYING. 279 

veston catastrophe can appreciate the nature cf the calamity which 
has befallen them. One woman laughingly told another that she 
had saved her baby, but that her two boys and her husband had 
been drowned. She was evidently insane. 

An eye-witness, writing on September i6th, said: " Galveston 
is striving manfully to rise from its ashes. A reign of terror has 
been averted, Hope crowns the day. More than a thousand men 
are clearing the streets of debris. They are working night and 
day. Their efforts so far have been expended in picking up car- 
casses and gathering bodies into piles and burning them. Separate 
pyres are built for human bodies and animals, and the work pro- 
gresses rapidly. The task is heartrendering, and many able bodied 
men have succumbed to the ordeal. 

GIGANTIC DISINFECTION. 

" Hundreds of women and children who are trying to get away 
from the city to the mainland find the task difficult. The slowness 
of the distracted ones is not due to tardiness or hesitation on their 
part. On the contrary, it is a scramble to get away, and the shat- 
tered wharves are lined watli persons awaiting their turn. Trans- 
portation facilities are very meagre. There are few boats to be 
had. The Lawrence, a 200-ton propeller, is the only steamer car- 
rying persons across to Texas City. 

'' One of the most hopeful features of the situation is the arrival 
of hundreds of barrels of disinfectants, such as carbolic acid and 
chloride of lime. Two thousand barrels of these could be advant- 
ageously used. The Board of Health shows signs of vigor and of 
an appreciation of the danger that confronts the city and contigu- 
ous territory. Every effort is being made to deodorize the ruins 
and to quickly dispose of the dead as soon as they are reached. 

" The work of cleaning and disinfecting the streets is carried 
on with vigor, and the results are quite noticeable, especially in 
the central part of the city. Gutters in Tremont street weie 
opened and the slush ajid debris from them carted to the city dunij). 
This allowed the water to drain off. Centre street and the Strand 
were also worked on with excellent results, the gutters being 



280 RELIEF WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYING. 

Opened and disinfectants generally distributed. Several other streets 
in the central part of the city were put in a sanitary condition. 

" The depot for sanitary supplies established by the Board of 

Health issued yesterday fifty- four sacks and eighty-four barrels of 

lime, twenty-five sacks of charcoal, twenty boxes of powdered dis- 

'-infectants, ten cans of oil and three barrels of carbolic acid. All 

of this was distributed over the city for disinfection. 

" Out in the suburbs large forces were at work cleaning the 
streets and opening the gutters. The result of their work is very 
noticeable to one who went out in the evening after having gone over 
the same ground the day before. The work of clearing the streets 
of broken telephone and telegraph poles and wires, as well as poles 
and wires of other kinds, has been begun in earnest. The great 
broken poles with their loads of wires are lowered to the ground 
and the wires removed as rapidh^ as possible. 

THE SHERIFF'S WORK. 

" Sheriff Thomas reports that he and his posses buried and 
cremated thirty-eight bodies in Kurd's lane, twenty-one bodies at 
Sydnor's Bayou, and thirteen bodies in Kagle Grove. Sheriff 
Thomas says there are still one hundred bodies to be buried just 
outside the city limits, and he has no idea of how many more down 
the island. 

" Fully ;^i, 500,000 worth of vessel property is tied up on 
the lowlands. There was more than this until the British 
steamer Mora was floated on Wednesday. There are seveu ocean 
going steamers grounded in different parts of the bay, and the pros- 
pect of some of them ever getting from their positions is quite 
remote. 

" The steamer Roma is probably in the tightest place. She 
broke from her moorings at pier No. 15 during the storm and went 
westward to the county bridge, tearing her way through the other 
bridges until she went aground on or near Deer Island. It is 
feared her days of usefulness are over, for it would take as much 
as she is worth to dredge a channel from her position to water deep 
enough to float her. 



RELIEF WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYING. 281 

" Another possible total loss is the steamer Kendal Castle, 
which is in shallow water near Texas City, having gone there dur- 
ing the storm from pier No. 31. She lies partly broadside on. 
Like the Roma, she is far from deep water, and until the Texas 
Cit}^ channel is completed it does not seem probable that she can 
get out. 

" The quarantine barge, belonging to the State, is probably 
gone beyond redemption. She dragged her anchor from the moor- 
ing place to Pelican Island, where she went aground and fell over 
on her side with the receding waters. Her machinery is propably 
badly wrecked, and she is in such a position that it would be diffi- 
cult to right her, although the effort may be made. 

" Small craft in the bay suffered as much in proportion to value 
as the big vessels, if not more, for practically every one was 
swamped. Some of them struck the piers and had holes stove in 
their bottoms. Owners have been repairing them, and for that 
reason few, if any, will be entirely lost." 

GALVESTON IN DANGER FROM FIRE. 

" A danger which Galveston faces is fire. Not a drop of rain 
has fallen since the hurricane, and the hot winds and blistering suns 
have made the wrecked houses and buildings so much tinder, piled 
mountain high in every direction. In nearly all parts of the city 
the fire hydrants are buried fifty feet, in some places a hundred feet 
deep under the wreckage, and as yet the water supply at best is 
only of the most meagre kind. 

" Galveston's fire department is small and badly crippled and 
would be powerless to stay the flames should they ever start. 
There is no relief nearer than Houston, and that is hours away. 
In view of all the existing conditions it is no wonder that the cry 
is, ' Get the women and children to the mainland, anywhere off the 
island,' nor is it a wonder that with one small boat carrying only 
300 passengers, and making only two trips a day, people fairly 
fight to be taken aboard. 

" All yesterda}' fears were entertained by the authorities that 
even this service would be cut off and Galveston left without any 



282 RELIEF WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYING. 

means of getting to the mainland, owing to the trouble with the 
owner of the boat. 

" The sanitary conditions do not improve. Dr. Trueheart, 
chairman of the committee in charge of caring for the sick and 
injured, is going on with dispatch. More physicians are needed, 
and he requests that about thirty outside physicians come to Gal- 
veston and work for at least a month, and, if needed, longer. The 
city's electric light service is completely destroyed, and the city 
electrician says it may be sixty days before the business portion 
can be lighted. 

" A glorious and modern Galveston to be rebuilt in place of 
the old one, is the cry raised by the citizens, but it would seem a 
task beyond human power to ever remove the wreckage of the old 
city. 

" The total number of people fed in the ten wards Saturday, 
the 15th, was 16,144. Sunday the number increased slightly. 
No accurate statemen , of the amount of supplies can be obtained 
as they are being put in the general stock as soon as received." 

"SEEMS LIKE AN AWFUL DREAM." 

Destitute save for a few personal effects carried in a small 
valise, and with nerves sliattered by a week of horror, Mr. and 
Mrs. C. A. Prutsman, with their two daughters, twelve and six 
years old, reached Chicago from the flood-swept district of Texas. 
They came direct from Galveston, via. Houston and St. Louis. 

During all of one afternoon the little family sat at the Rock 
Island station waiting for a train to take them to Putnam, 111., 
where Mrs. Prutsman has relatives. When it was learned that 
they were from Galveston, they were besieged with questions con- 
cerning the details of the terrible storm. Crowds of waiting pas- 
sengers flocked about them, and they told the gruesome story 
over and over. 

" Yes, we were fortunate," said Mrs. Prutsman, as she leaned 
wearily back in a rocking chair, and tenderly contemplated the two 
children at her side. " It seems to me just like an awful dream, 
and when I think of the hundreds and hundreds of children who 



RELIEF WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYING. 283 

were killed right before our very eyes, I feel as tliougli I always 
ought to be satisfied no matter what comes." 

Mr. Prutsman said : " The reports from Galveston are not half 
as appalling as the situation really i^. We left the fated city Wed- 
nesday afternoon, going by boat to Texas City, and by rail to 
Houston. The condition of Galveston at that time, while showing 
an improvement, was awful, and never shall I forget the terrible 
scenes that met our eyes as the boat on which we left steamed out 
of the harbor. There were bodies on all sides of us. In some 
places they were piled six and seven deep, and the stench horrible. 

" I resided with my family fourteen blocks away from the beach, 
yet my house was swept away at 5 p.m. Saturday, and with it went 
everything we had in the world. Fifteen minutes before I took my 
wife and children to the courthouse and we were saved, along with 
about 1,000 others who sought refuge there. When we went 
through the streets the water was up to our arms and we carried 
the children on our heads. 

WOMAN SHOT TO END HER SUFFERING. 

" I assisted for several days in the work of rescue. In one 
pile of debris we found a woman who seemed to have escaped the 
flood, but who was inj ured and pinned down so she could not es- 
cape. A guard came along, and,, after failing to rescue her, delib- 
erately shot her to end her misery. 

" The streets present a gruesome appearance. Every available 
wagon and vehicle in the city is being used to transport the dead, 
and it is no uncommon thing to see a load of bodies ten deep. The 
stench in the city is nauseating. Since the flood the only water 
that could be used for drinking purposes was in cisterns, and it has 
become tainted with the slime and filth that covers the city until it 
is little better than no water at all. 

'' Since the city was placed under martial law conditions have 
been much better and there is little lawlessness. The soldiers have 
shown no quarter and have orders to shoot on sight. This has had 
a wonderful effect on the disreputable characters who have flocked 
into the city. 



281 RELIEF WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYING. 

SAW FOUR MEN SHOT IN ONE DAY. 

" Everybod}^ who remains in Galveston is made to work, and 
the punishment for a refusal is about the same as that meted out to 
ghouls. I saw four colored men shot in one day. There were con- 
fined in the hold of a steamer in the harbor, six colored men who 
were found by the soldiers with a flour sack almost filled with fing- 
ers and ears on which were jewels. These men probably have been 
publicly executed before this time. 

" In the work of rescue we found whole families tied together 
with ropes, and in several instances mothers had their babes clasped 
in their arms. 

" Scores of unfortunates straggle into Houston every day and 
their condition is pitiable. Several have lost their reason. The 
citizens of Houston are doing all in their power to meet the demands 
of the sufferers, and ever}^ available building in the city has been 
converted into a hospital. When we arrived in Houston we scarcely 
had clothes enough to cover us, and the citizens fitted us out and 
started us north. The fear of fever or some awful plague drove us 
from Galveston. 

" Already speculators are flocking into the city, and there is 
some activity among them over tax-title real estate. In several 
instances whole families were wiped out of existence, and the op- 
portunities in this line seem to be, great." 

General Chambers McKibbin, U. S. A., and Adjutant General 
Scurry were both emphatic regarding the necessity for prompt 
work in clearing the streets and surroundings of Galveston. 

" I am personally in favor of burning as much rubbish as pos- 
sible," said General McKibben, " and of burning it as quickly as 
the power of man will permit. I am not an alarmist by any means, 
and I do not predict a pestilence, but I think things are coming to 
that point where a pestilence may be possible unless prompt meas- 
ures are taken, and there is nothing so ejBfective as fire. Burn 
everything and burn it at once." 

"I haven't a dollar to pay the men who are working in the 
streets all day long," said xA.djutaut General Scurry. "I am un- 
able to say to a single one of tJie men ' You'll be paid for your 



RELIEF WORK FOR THE SICK ANt) DYING. 2S5 

work.' I have not the money to make good the promise. I hope 
and believe that the country will understand the situation. We 
must have this city cleaned up at any cost and with tlie greatest 
speed possible. If it is not done with all haste, and at the same 
time done well, there may be a pestilence, and if it once breaks out 
here it will not be Galveston alone that will suffer. 

" Such things spread, and it is not only for the sake of this 
cit}^, but for others outside that I urge that above all things we want 
money. The nation has been most kind in its response to the ap- 
peals of Galveston, but from what I hear, food and disinfectants 
sufficient for temporary purposes at least, are here or on the way. 
The country does not understand. It cannot understand, unless it 
could visit Galveston, the awful situation prevailing here." 

NO DANGER OF PESTILENCE. 

Dr. A. B. Chamberlain said that Galveston would now escape 
epidemic in any form. He had been through two of these Gulf 
coast visitations, though upon a smaller scale. " We may have 
some mild cases of fever as the result of the shock and the ex- 
posure," he said, "but I am confident there will be nothing 
serious." 

This seems to be quite generally the opinion of the doctors 
wno are not advising any wholesale exodus. They put great faith 
in the free use of disinfectants and in the bracing salt air which 
blows continuously over the island. 

" A barrel of lime is worth more to us now than a ton of food," 
was the expression of Dr. J. O. Dyer. " Let us appeal," he con- 
tinued, "for 10,000 barrels of lime and 500 barrels of tar. Each 
block will require at the least ten barrels scattered on its respective 
lots and streets, burn the tar in offensive localities." 

Ladies of Galveston are engaged in a work which is perhapsi 
without precedent in relief effort. They are making many little 
bags, into which they place two or three lumps of camphor. The 
bags have strings by which they can be fastened at the head, so 
that they will rest on the lip just under the nose. They are to be 
■i\'(irn by the men engaged in the search and cremation of bodies. 



286 RELIEF WORK FOR THE SICI-t AND DYING. 

It is proposed to all people whose houses are still standing 
that whenever they locate a corpse or carcasses in their vicinity 
the position be indicated by a flag of some kind. 

Some of the notices and paragraphs in these first issues of the 
Galveston papers are as interesting as stories of the storm. For 
example : — 

" The First Church of Christ, Scientists, cordially extends the 
use of their church to any denomination whose church was so 
damaged by the recent storm as to render it unfit for services." 

DOCTORS CARING FOR THE SUFFERERS. 

In the advertising columns merchants seem to vie with each 
other in announcing, " Positively no advance in pfices." Here is 
an editorial leader which could hardly be found outside of a hurri- 
cane issue: — 

" It is important that all who are injured enough to necessi- 
tate a stitching of their wounds should have their dressings changed 
every twenty-four hours. Some of the wounded have neglected to 
do this, with a result that the doctors have more work to do than 
is necessary. Every doctor in town is doing work free of cost to 
all who apply." 

There have been accounts of negroes caught in the act of rob- 
bing the dead and shot. Galveston citizens are prompt to say that 
there have been exceptional cases. They gave the mass of colored 
people credit for doing their part. 

On September 14th a writer described as follows events in the 
stricken city : " The evacuation of Galveston has begun. Do what 
they will, the newspapers and authorities cannot convince thou- 
sands who have made up their minds that this island is doomed to 
remain a moment after their first chance of escape. 

" Schooners by the dozen are leaving for Texas and their crews 
have to stand guard to keep the people from overcrowding and 
sinking the craft. People are leaving with no destination, but with 
a strong determination to get many miles from this panorama of 
wrecked business houses, blockaded streets, hospitals filled with 
wounded and dying victims of the awful disaster. 



RELIEF WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYING. 287 

" Galveston may again become the prosperons port it was five 
days ago, but its principal population will be of people who have 
not seen the awful work of wind ana water. Men who have large 
business interests here may remain, but their families will be on 
the mainland, and every sign of approaching storm will drive thou- 
sands away. A workingman who paid $3,900 for a cottage and 
lot offered to sell for $500 yesterday, throwing in all the house 
contained. The house is very little damaged, but he lost a wife and 
baby whom he had taken to what he thought was a place of safet3^ 
It is impossible to write anything that would convey a faint idea 
of the wreckage and ruin. 

FIRES ALL OVER THE CITY. 

"The number of dead under debris in the central parts of the 
city will never be known, as burning is going on all over the city. 
The east end, beginning at Fifteenth street and Avenue L, running 
on a line parallel with the island, has a great mass of wreckage 
piled as high as a man's head and from that to the top of houses 
three stories high. 

" This line extends as far along as there were any houses to 
wreck, and consists of all manner of buildings. It is a desolate 
scene from Eighth street east, when one compares it with the life 
that was present there but a short time ago. Two buildings of all 
the colony at the Point are left standing. These are the houses of 
the quarantine officer and the lighthouse. The quarantine ware- 
house is gone. All the barrack buildings and the dirt mounds 
that surrounded them are gone, and in place of all is a water}'' 
waste, with the exception of a few little islands that appear above 
the water. 

" The water has cut into the lands from the jetties, covering 
all the ground practically from Seventh street east. For a block 
or more in the neighborhood of the hospitals there is a prairie 
waste, and then begins the mass of debris. One man had several 
houses out there and now he can find his fine porcelain tubs in the 
debris, while all about him are the things that composed his home 
and the houses he owned. 



288 RFJJHF WORK FOR tllK SICK AND DYING. 

" Lucas Terrace, a large three-story brick building, divided 
into flats of tliiee and four rooms each is almost a total wreck. Out 
of thirty-seven persons reported to have been in the building when 
the storm started its work of destruction, the Terrace had fifteen 
killed. Business concerns of the larger order in the East end suf- 
fered with the corner groceries and the smaller merchants. 

WELL-KNOWN BUILDINGS DAMAGED. 

" Boysen's mill is considerably damaged, the smokestack, 
some of the windows and part of the roof being gone. Across the 
street the bonemeal mill stands, with scarcely any north wall what- 
ever. The Neptune Ice Company, Eighteenth street and Avenue 
A, is almost a total wreck. A part of the building is gone into a 
mass of debris while other parts remain standing. The oil mill at 
Eighteenth street and Strand, suffered little apparent damage ex- 
cept to the windows. A big blacksmith shop in Eighteenth street, 
between Strand and Mechanic, suffered the loss of the upper story 
entirely. These are but a few specimens of what has happened all 
over the city." 

W. S. Abernethy, with the Chicago relief forces, wrote on the 
15th : " Yesterday was a day of anguish, as all the days of this 
week have been. 

" There was no cessation of tear-stained faces appearing here 
and there to tell of the lost. And it is a wonder if the end of this 
sad divulgence will ever come. A motherless boy or a fatherless 
girl, newly childless mother or father, or whatever it may be, the}^ 
still come to tell of their woe ; and the stolid men who glide over 
the water or who search the shore still bring in the swollen and 
unrecognizable victims of the storm. It will end some day, and 
agonizing hearts nia}^ rest from the painful throbbings of this hour. 

" It is likel}^ that Dr. Grant will increase his force to fift}- 
deputy marshals at once. He cancelled his political appointments 
in Ohio to render this service to Galveston. Speaking of the dis- 
aster he said: 

" It is the traged}^ of the century, and is impossible of descrip- 
tion. I have never seen anything like it before, and I hope I never 



RELIEF. WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYING, 289 

shall again. i\s sorrowful as it is, however, I do not believe the 
people of Galveston will give way to despair. There is still a great 
future for this city, and those who survive must wisely realize the 
present and build to the future. 

" Such destruction is impossible of repetition, and all Texas 
will regret if Galveston halts and refuses to improve the possibili- 
ties within her grasp. The horrible past — and thank God it is 
past — with its innumerable heartaches, is too awful to discuss." 

MAYOR SETS ALL AT WORK. 

" Mayor Walter C. Jones has issued a proclamation revoking^ 
all passes heretofore issued, and placing Brigadier General Thomas 
Scurry in command of all forces. General Scurry has appointed 
Hunt McCaleb his adjutant, and only passes signed by him will be 
recognized. All able men without the passes will be put at work 
clearing the wreckage and burning and burying the dead. 

" At a meeting of the relief committee yesterday it was decided 
not to pay for labor, but time checks will be issued and paid later. 
Only those sick and those working will receive assistance from the 
relief committee." 

HUGE TANK MOVED SIX BLOCKS. 

To those acquainted with the wharf front a peculiar thing is 
presented near the foot of Twenty-first street. The big steel tank 
of the Waters-Pierce Oil Company, in which- was stored during the 
season cotton seed oil, at the foot of Fifteenth street, was blown to 
Twenty-first street, a distance of six blocks. It landed on its bot- 
tom and rests now in an upright position. It is a large tank and 
heavy, but the elements got the better of it. 

This morning the streets are pretty well crowded with busi- 
ness vehicles ; a great many large concerns are doing business, 
and there is a general appearance of activity which will in a great 
measure relieve the feeling of unrest and stem the tide of people 
trying to get away from Galveston. 

The prospect for rail communication is improving, but no day 
can be set when trains can be run to the island. Large forces are 



290 REUEF WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYING. 

at work on both ends of one of the four bridges across the bay, but 
as the bridge is two and one-half miles long and the piling in bad 
shape, it is impossible to say when the work will be completed. It 
may be in three or four days, or may be longer, although railroad 
of&cials hope for the best — that is, the lowest estimates of time. 

FEAR TO LOOK ON THE SEA. 

" It matters not how great the number of the dead, there are 
enough to shock the sympathies of the world, and they are gone 
forever. But we fear here to look upon the sea, lest some heartless 
wave shall bring to view the cold, stark form of another whom 
somebody lived with and loved. 

" The victims are still growing into larger thousands, and the 
bereft are still coming in to tell of losses. It is a continued story 
of anguish and death such as Texas has never known before and 
prays it shall never know again. 

EVERY WAVE HAS ITS TRAGEDY. 

" It is said that every wave of the sea has its tragedy, and it 
seems to be true here. In Galveston it has ceased to be an anxiety 
for the dead, but concern for the living. The supreme disaster, 
with its overwhelming tale of death and destruction, has now abated 
to lively anxiety for the salvation of the living. 

" Men are at work clearing the streets of piles of timbers and 
refuse. Men are beginning to realize that the living must be cared 
for. It is now the supreme duty. There is much work to be done 
and it is being done. Women and children are being hurried out 
of the city just as rapidly as the limited facilities of transportation 
will permit. The authorities and commissioners are rational, and 
idleness is no longer permitted. 

" There is an element with an abundance of vital energy who 
intend to save the town, and the town is being saved. Bur3nng the 
dead, feeding the destitute, cleaning the city and repairing wrecks 
of all character are under fair headway, and will be pushed as rap- 
idly as men can be found to do the work. 

" The great utilities of the city are being repaired to a state of 



RELIEF WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYING. 291 

usefulness. Men are in demand and workers are coming to engage 
in the duty of restoration. Life is beginning to supersede death, 
and there is apparent everywhere a desire to save the city and 
rebuild it. 

" Before another week has passed, the listlessness of mourning 
people will have been changed into a lively interest in life, and as 
this comes so, Galveston will begin to realize just what the world 
expects of her. General Scurry now has charge of the town, and 
it is really under martial law. 

" Of course there is some friction. Martial friction, like the 
martial law, is a matter only temporary. It would be dif&cult to 
challenge the necessity of this measure. There are many defense- 
less women and children in the city, living in houses without locks 
and keys, and they must be protected against prowlers of all kinds. 
How long such protection will be necessary cannot be known now, 
but General Scurry can be depended upon to discharge the im- 
portant obligations which he has assumed. 

" There are political factions here who resent the idea of mar- 
tial law, but this fact does not, for a moment, abate the necessity 
for it. United States Marshal John Grant has arrived with twelve 
deputy marshals. He tendered his services to General Scurry and 
they were accepted. 

WALKING OVER CORPSES. 

" One hundred people at present are at Virginia Point, some 
waiting for transportation over to Galveston, some for day to break 
so as to permit of the burial of corpses, of which there are many 
scattered up and down the beach and all over the prairie for a radius 
of ten miles. Others are waiting for a first chance to get as far 
away as possible from this terrible scene. Men who will work are 
very scarce. Those willing have a desire to boss, which does not 
facilitate matters in the least. An organized force of considerable 
proportion should be sent here at once. 

" An eight-mile walk from where the passengers were put off 
the train last night to this place, over the corpses of human beings 
and animals, piles of lumber, household articles of every descrip- 



292 RELIEF WORK FOR THE SICK AND DYING. 

Hon and furniture was an experience so horrible ttat a small pro- 
portion of those who started are here this morning. 

" A caboose and engine are standing just above this place, in 
it are four train men all crippled and sick, only one of them being 
able to get about. With them are a father and son, the remainder 
of a party of eight who tried to cross the bay Saturday. A halt 
mile farther down, or a hundred yards from the bay, is another en- 
gine and caboose, in it a family of six, four of them small children 
are congregated. They lived at this place and had a hard fight 
for their lives. They are caring for a switchman, who will live 
only a few hours. They are in a destitute condition. ^ 

REFUGEES CRAZED BY THEIR SUFFERINGS. 
" Refugees from Galveston tell awful tales of suffering and 
death, and in every case that came to my notice are in siich mental 
state that there can be no reliable facts obtained from them, ihe 
only newspaper man who has got into Galveston came out last 
night deathly sick, and would not stop when hailed. 

"Thieves have been robbing the bodies as they came ashore. 
One man was caught last night and will be taken to Galveston 
to-day When searched, a baby's finger was found with a ring on 
it He afterwards gave the hiding place of articles and money and 
much jewelry was found. A cry of '' lynch him" met with little 
favor : enough death is here. 

"Frantic refugees from Galveston gave vent to all sorts ol 
invectives against the world in general and Houston (fifty miles 
north) in particular, for what they believe to be dilatoriness m 
relief work. It does not seem that more could have been done m 
one day. Almost nothing has been done. 

" Some in their frenzy blaspheme their God for not preventing 
snch a catastrophe. Two relief boats are to leave shortly but only 
enough men to man them will be allowed to accompany them. 
There is no shelter here except the two cars mentioned. Box c£.rs 
were strewn along the west side of the railroad grade for two miles 
from this point." 



CHAPTER XV. 

Family in a Tree-Top All Night — Rescue of the Perishing — 

Railroad Trains Hurrying Forward with Relief — 

Pathetic Scenes in the Desolate City. 

A FTER suffering untold privations for over a week on Bolivar 
^*^ peninsula, an isolated neck of land extending into Galveston 
bay a few miles from the east end of Galveston island, the Rev. 
L. P. Davis, wife and five young children reached Houston, fam- 
ished, penniless and nearly naked, but overcome with amazement 
and joy at their miraculous delivery from what seemed to them 
certain death. 

Wind and water wrecked their home, annihilated their neigh- 
bors and destroyed every particle of food for miles around, yet 
they pas:-,ed through the terrible days and nights raising their 
voices above the shriek of the wind in singing hymns and in 
prayer. And through it all not one member of the family was 
injured to the extent of even a scratch. 

When the hurricane struck the Rev. Mr. Davis' home at Pat- 
ton Beach the water rose so fast that it was pouring into the win- 
dows before the members of the family realized their danger. 
Rushing out Mr. Davis hitched his team and placing his wife and 
children into a wagon started for a place of safety. Before they 
had left his yard another family of refugees drove up to ask assist- 
ance, only to be upset by the waves before his very eyes. With 
difficulty the party was saved from drowning, and when safe in 
the Davis wagon were half floated, half drawn by the team to a 
grove. 

With clotheslines Mr. Davis lashed his 12 and 14 year old 
boys in a tree. One younger child he secured with the chain of 
his wagon, and lifting his wife into another tree he climbed beside 
her. 

While the hurricane raged above and a sea of water dashed 
wildly below, Mrs. Davis clung to her 6-month-old babe with one 

293 



294 RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 

arm, while with the other she held fast to her precarious haven of 
refuge. The minister held a baby of i8 months in the same man- 
ner, and while the little one cried for food he prayed. In other 
trees the family he had rescued from drowning found a precarious 
footing. 

When the night had passed and the water receded, wreckage, 
dead animals and the corpses of parishioners surrounded the 
devoted party. There was nothing to eat, and, nearly dead with 
exhaustion, the preacher and his little flock set out on foot to 
seek assistance. They were too weak to continue far, and sank 
down on the plain, while Mr. Davis pushed on alone. Five miles 
away a farmhouse was found, partially intact, and securing a 
team, Davis returned for his half-dead party. 

SUBSISTED ON RAW MEAT. 

For two days they remained at the home of the hospitable 
farmer, and then set out afoot to fiud a hamlet or make their way 
over the desert-like peninsula to Bolivar Point. In the heat of 
the burning sun they plodded on along the water front, subsisting 
upon a steer which they killed and devoured raw, until finally 
they came upon an abandoned and overturned sailboat high on 
the beach. 

With a united effort they succeeded in launching the boat, 
and with improvised distress signals displayed, managed to sail 
to Galveston. There, because of red tape, they were unable to 
secure clothing, although they were given a little food and trans- 
portation to Houston. Clad in an old pair of trousers, a tattered 
shirt and torn shoes, with his family in even worse plight, the 
circuit rider of the Patton Beach, Johnston's Bethel, Bolivar 
Point and High Island Methodist Churches rode into Hoiiston, 
dirty, weak and half-starved. Here the family were sent to a 
hospital and cared for. 

Bolivar reported that up to date 220 bodies had been foriind 
and buried, and many were still lying on the sands. Assistance 
was needed at once. It is a fact generally commented upon, and 
merely emphasized by the clergyman's experience, that while 



RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 295 

succor is being ruslied to Galveston, otlier sufferers are neglected. 
The relief trains en route from Houston to Galveston traverse a 
storm-swept section, where famishing and nearly naked survivors 
sit on the wrecks of their homes and hungrily watch tons of pro- 
visions whirling past them, while there is little prospect of aid 
reaching them. 

Winifred Black, a lady journalist, furnishes the following^ 
vivid account of her experiences in reaching Galveston : "I beg- 
ged, cajoled and cried my way through the line of soldiers with 
drawn swords, who guard the wharf at Texas Cit}^, and sailed 
across the bay on a little boat, which is making irregular trips to 
meet the relief trains from Houston. 

" The engineer who brought our train down from Houston 
spent the night before groping around in the wrecks on the beach 
looking for his wife and three children. He found them, dug a 
rude grave in the sand, and set up a little board marked with 
his name. 

ALL HAD LOST LOVED ONES. 

" The man in front of me on the car had floated all Monday 
night with his wife and mother on a part of the roof of his little 
home. He told me that he kissed his wife good-bye at midnight 
and told her that he could not hold on any longer ; but he did hold 
on, dazed and half-conscious, until the day broke and showed him 
that he Avas alone on his piece of drift-wood. He did not c'veu 
know when the woman that he loved had died. 

" Every man on the train — there were no women there — had 
lost some one that he loved in the terrible disaster, and was going 
across the bay to try and find some trace of his family — all except 
the four men in my party. They were from 'outside cities — St. 
Louis, New Orleans and Kansas City. They had lost a large , 
amount of property and were coming down to see if anything could 
be saved from the wreck. 

" They had been sworn in as deputy sheriffs in order to get 
into Galveston. The city is under martial law, and no human being 
who can't account for himself to the complete satistaction of the 
officers in charge can hope to get through. We sat on the deck of 



296 RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 

the little steamer. The four men from outside cities and I listened 
to the little boat's wheel plowing its way through the calm waters 
of the ba3^ The stars shone down like a benediction, but along 
the line of the shore there arose a great leaping column of bloods 
red flame. 

"What a terrible fire." I said. "Some of the large buildings 
must be burning." 

A man passing on the deck behind my chair heard me. He 
stopped, put his hand on the bulwark and turned down and looked 
into my face, his face like that of a dead man ; but he laughed. 

" Buildings !" he said. "Don't you know what is burning 
over there ? It is my wife and children — such little children ! 
Why, the tallest was not as high as this" — he laid his hand on the 
bulwark — " and the little one was just learning to talk. She called 
my name the other da}^, and now they are burning over there — ■ 
they and the mother who bore them. She was such a little, 
tender, delicate thing, always so easily frightened, and now she's 
out there all alone with the two babies and they're burning ! " 

The man laughed again and began again to walk up and 
down the deck. 

HAD TO BURN BODIES OF THOUSANDS. 

"That's right," said the Marshal of the State of Texas, 
taking off his broad hat and letting the starlight shine on his 
strong face. " That's right. We had to do it. We've burned 
over i,ooo people to-day, and to-morrow we shall burn as many 
more. Yesterday we stopped burying the bodies at sea ; we had 
,to give the men on the barges whisky to give them courage to do 
the work. They carried out hundreds of the dead at one time, 
men and women, negroes and white people, all piled up as high 
as the barge could stand it, and the men did not go far enough out 
to sea, and the bodies have begun drifting back again." 

" Look ! " said the man who was walking the deck, touching 
my shoulder with his shaking hand. " Look there ! " 

" Before I had time to think I had to look, and saw floating in 
the water the body of an old woman, whose hair was shining in 



RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 297 

the starlight. A little farther on we saw a group of strange drift- 
wood. We looked closer and found it to be a mass of wooden 
slabs, with names and dates cut upon them, and floating on top of 
them were marble stones, two of them. 

DEAD \A^ASHED FROM THEIR GRAVES. 

" The grave3^ard, which has held tlrs sleeping citizens of G^.l- 
veston for many, mary years, was giving up its dead. We pulled 
up at a little wharf in the hush of the starlight ; there were no 
lights anywhere in the city except a few scattered lamps shining 
from a few desolate, half-destroyed houses. We picked our 
way up the street. The ground was slimy with the debris of 
the sea. 

"We climbed over wreckage and picked our way through heaps 
of rubbish. The terrible, sickening odor almost overcame us, 
and it w^as all that I could do to shut m}^ teeth and get through 
the streets somehow. The soldiers were camping on the wharf 
front, lying stretched out on the wet sand, the hideous, hideous 
sand, stained and streaked in the starlight with dark and cruel 
blotches. They challenged us, but the marshal took us through 
under his protection. At every street corner there was a guard, 
and every guard wore a six-shooter strapped around his waist. 

"We got to the hotel after some terrible nightmare fashion, 
plodding through dim streets like a line of forlorn ghosts in a 
half-forgotten dream. General McKibben, commander in charge 
of the Texas Division, was in the hotel parlor reading dispatches. 
He was horrified to see me. 

" How in the world did you get here ?" he said, "I would 
hot let any woman belonging to me come into this place of horror 
for all the money in America. 

OLD SOLDIER SHUDDERED AT THE SIGHTS. 

"lam an old soldier, madame. I have seen many battle- 
fields, but let me tell j'bu that since I rode across the bay the other 
night and helped the man at the boat steer to keep away from the 
floating bodies of dead women and little children I have not slept 



-298 RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 

one single instant. Five thousand would never cover tlie number 
of people wlio died liere in that terrible storm. 

" In the short time I have been here I have met and talked 
with women who saw every one they loved on earth swept away 
from them out in the storm. As I look out of my window I can 
see the blood-red flame leaping with fantastic gesture against thC; 
sky. There is no wire into Galveston, and I will have to send this 
message out by the first boat. 

" For the present the two things needed are money and disin- 
fectants. More nurses and doctors are needed. Galveston wants 
help — quick, ready, v/illing help. Don't waste a minute to send 
it. If it does not come soon this whole region will be a prey to a 
plague such as has never been known in America. Quick-lime 
and disinfectants, and money and clothes — all these things Gal- 
veston must have, and have at once, or the people of this country 
will have a terrible crime on their conscience. 

MAKING A FIGHT FOR LIFE. 

''The people of Galveston are making a brave and gallant 
fight for life. The citizens have organized under efi&cient and 
willing management. Gangs of men are at work everywhere 
removing the wreckage. The city is districted according to wards, 
and in every ward there is a relief station. They give out food 
at the relief stations. Such food as they have will not last long. 

" I sat in one relief station for anhour this morning and saw 
several people who had come asking for medicine and disinfectv 
ants and a few rags of clothing to cover their pitiful nakedness, 
turned away. The man in charge of the bureau took the last 
nickel in the world out of his pocket and gave it to make up a., 
sum for a woman with a new-born baby in her arms to buy a little 
garment to cover its shivering flesh. 

"The people of the State of Texas have risen to the occasion 
nobly. They have done ever3^thing that human beings, stagger- 
ing and dazed under such a blow, could possibly do, but they are 
only human. This is no ordinary catastrophe. One who has not 
been here to see with his own eyes the awful havoc wrought by 



RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 299 

the storm canuot realize the tentH part of tlie misery these people 
are suffering. 

"I asked a prominent member of the Citizens' Committee this 
morning where I should go to see the worst work which the storm 
had done. He smiled at me a little, pitifully. His house, every 
dollar he had in the world, and his children were swept away from 
him last Saturday night. 

" ' Go ? ' said he. ' Why, anywhere within two blocks of the 
very heart of the city you will see misery enough in half an hour 
to keep you awake for a week of sleepless nights.' 

'' I went toward the heart of the city. I do not know what the 
names of the streets were or where I was going. I simply picked 
my way through masses of slime and rubbish, which scar the 
beautiful wide streets of the once beautiful city. They won't bear 
looking at, those piles of rubbish. There are things there that 
gripe the heart to see — a baby's shoe, for instance, a little red 
shoe, with a jaunty tasseled lace — a bit of a woman's dress and 
letters. Oh, yes, I saw these things myself, and the letters were 
wet and grimed with the marks oi the cruel sea, but there were a 
few lines legible in it. 

" 'Oh, my dear,' it read, 'the time seems so long. When can 
we expect you back?' Whose hand had written, or who had 
received, no one will ever know. 

THE STENCH IS OVERPOWERING. 

*'The stench from these piles of rubbish is almost over-power- 
ing. Down in the very heart of the city most of the dead bodies 
have been removed, but it will not do to walk far out. To-day I 
came upon a group of people in a by-street, a man and two 
women, colored. The man was big and muscular, one of the 
women was old and one was young. They were dipping in a heap 
of rubbish, and when they heard my footsteps the man turned an 
evil glowering face upon me and the young woman hid some- 
thing in the folds of her dress. Human ghouls, these, prowling 
in search of prey. 

"A moment later there was noise and excitement in the little 



300 RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 

narrow street, and I looked back and saw the negro running, with 
a crowd at his heels. The crowd caught him and would have 
killed him but a policeman came up. They tied his hands and 
took him through the streets with a whooping rabble at his heels. 
It goes hard with a man in Galveston caught looting the dead in 
these days. 

"A young man well known in the city shot and killed a negro 
who was cutting the ears from a living woman's head to get her 
earrings out. The negro lay in the streets like a dead dog, and 
not even the members of his own race would give him the tribute of 
a kindly look. 

DESOLATION ON EVERY SIDE. 

"The abomination of desolation reigns on every side. The big 
houses are dismantled, tlieir roofs gone, windows broken, and the 
high water mark showing inconceivably high on the paint. The 
little houses are gone — either completely gone as if they were 
made of cards and a giant hand which was tired of playing with 
them had swept them all off the board and put them away, or they 
are lying in heaps of kindling wood covering no one knows what 
horrors beneath. 

"The main streets of the city are pitiful. Here and there a 
shop of some sort is left standing. South Fifth street looks like 
an old man's jaw, with one or two teeth protruding. The mer- 
chants are taking their little stores of goods that have been left 
them and are spreading them out in the bright sunshine, trying 
to make some husbanding of their small capital. The water 
rushed through the stores, as it did through the houses, in an 
irresistible avalanche that carried all before it. The wonder is 
not that so little of Galveston remains standing, but that there is 
any of it at all. 

"Every street corner has its story, in its history of misery and 
human agony bravely endured. The eye-witnesses of a hundred 
deaths have talked to me and told me their heart rending stories, 
and not one of them has told of a cowardly death. 

" The women met their fate as did the men, bravely, and for 



RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 301 

tlie most part with astonishing calmness. A woman told me that 
she and her husband went into the kitchen and climbed upon the 
kitchen table to get awa}^ from the waves, and that she knelt 
there and praj^ed. 

"As she prayed, the storm came in and carried the whole 
house away, and her husband with it, and ^^esterday she went out 
to the place where her husband had been, and there was nothing 
there but a little hole in the ground. 

'' Her husband's body was found twisted in the branches of a 
tree, half a mile from the place where she last saw him. She 
recognized him by a locket he had around his neck — the locket 
she gave him before they were married. It had her picture and 
a lock of the baby's hair in it. The woman told me all this 
without a tear or trace of emotion. No one cries here. 

"They will stand and tell the most hideous stories, stories 
that would turn the blood in the veins of a human machine cold 
with horror, without the quiver of an eye lid. A man sat in the 
telegraph of&ce and told me how he had lost two Jersey cows and 
some chickens. 

"THEY WERE ALL DROWNED." 

" He went into minute particulars, told how his house was built 
and what it cost, and how it was strengthened and made firm 
against the weather. He told me how the storm had come and 
swept it all away, and how he had climbed over a mass of wab- 
bling roofs and found a friend lying in the curve of a big roof, in 
the stoutest part of the tide, and how they two had grasped each 
other and what they said. 

"He told me just how much his cows cost, and why he was so 
fond of them, and hov/ hard he had tried to save them, but I said ; 
"You have saved yourself and your family; you ought not to 
complain." 

" The man stared at me with blank, unseeing eyes. " Why, I 
did not save my family." He said. "They were all drowned. I 
thought you knew that ; I don't talk very much about it." 

"The hideous horror of the whole thing has benumbed every 



802 RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 

one wlio saw it. No one tells the same story of the way the storm 
rose, or how it went. No two men tell the story of rescue quite 
alike. I have just heard of a little boy who was picked up float- 
ing on a plank. His mother and father and brothers and sisters 
were all lost in the storm. He tells a dozen different stories of 
his rescue on the night of tr^e storm. 

" But the cit}^ is gradually getting back to a normal under- 
standing of the situation, just as one comes out of a long fainting 
fit, and says : ' Where am I ?" 

" The Mayor is doing everything in his power to straighten 
matters out. Martial law is strictly enforced. The Chief of 
Police is busy, very busy. I caught him in the hotel rotunda 
this morning. There were five or six men around him, all trying 
to get permits. He would not listen to one of theui, 

TOO BUSY TO TALK. 

" He transfixed me with a stony stare when I asked him for 
some information. He did not have time to bother with me. He 
was too busy feeding the hungry and comforting the destitute 
and taking care of thieves to care whether the outside world knew 
anything about him or his opinions or not. 

" The little parks are full of homeless people. The prairies 
around Galveston are dotted with little camp fires, where the 
homeless and destitute are tr3dng to gather their scattered .fami- 
lies together, and find out who among them are dead and who are 
living. 

" There are thousands and thousands of families in Galveston 
to-day without food or a place to la}^ their heads. 

" But oh, in pity's name, in America's name, do not delay help 
one single instant ! Send help quickly, or it will be too late. 

"One week has passed since the awful calamity which laid 
low beautiful Galveston and the story has not yet been half told. 
The people against whom the appalling catastrophe was visited 
are just beginning to awake from the horrible nightmare which 
had its inception in the roaring torrents of the Gulf of Mexico. 

"With the awakening comes memory — remembrance of awful 



RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 803 

scenes following the storm whicli up to now have been untold. 
Accounts of personal experiences are j ust becoming available, and 
the narration of the different stories is like a long, hideous 
dream. 

" Quartered in the Chicago hospital in the Auditorium Theatre 
are persons whose minds were a blank all the week until the min- 
istering of the 'Chicago American's' nurses and physicians 
restored, at least partly, the shattered nerves and senses. During 
this morning's early hours these unfortunates related their awful 
experiences. 

"The story of Thomas Klee was possibly the most pitiful. 
Klee lived near Eleventh and N streets. When the storm burst 
he was alone in his house with his two infant children. He 
seized one under each arm and rushed from the frail structure in 
time to cheat death among the falling timbers of his home. 

LODGED HIS CHILD IN A TREE. 

'' Once in the open, with his babies under his arms, he was 
swept into the bay among hundreds of others. He held to his 
precious burden and by skillful manoeuvring managed to get 
close to a tree which was sweeping along with the tide. He saw 
a haven in the branches of the tree and raised his two-year-old 
daughter to place her in the branches. As he did so the little 
one was torn from his arm and carried away to her death. 

"The awful blow stunned, but did not render senseless. Klee 
retained his hold on the other child, aged four years, and was 
whirled along among the dying and dead victims of the storm's 
fury, hoping to effect a landing somewhere. An hour in the 
water brought the desired end. He was thrown ashore, with 
wreckage and corpses, and, stumbling to a footing, lifted his son 
to a level with his face. The boy was dead. 

"Klee remembered nothing until last night, when he was put 
ashore in Texas City. He had a slight recollection of helping to 
bury dead, clear away debris and obey the command of soldiers. 
His brain, however, did not execute its functions until early 
to-day in the hospital. 



304 RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 

''George Boyer's experience was a sad one. He was thrown 
into tlie rushing waters, and while beiiig carried with frightful 
velocity down the bay saw the dead face of his wife in the branches 
of a tree. The woman had been wedged firmly between two 
branches. 

"Margaret Lees' life was saved at the expense of her brother's.. 
The woman was in her Twelfth street home when the hurricane 
struck. Her brother seized her and guided her to St. Mary's 
University, a short distance away. He returned to search for his 
son, and was killed by a falling house. 

Galveston, Tex., Sept. 15. — The sound of the hammer is 
beginning to be heard throughout the city. Every man not 
engaged in looking for and cremating the dead is repairing the 
damage wrought by Saturday's great tidal wave. 

The spirit that has been displayed by the citizens remaining 
here is remarkable. They seem determined to begin immediately 
the work of rebuilding the stricken city, and to that end are 
endeavoring to secure building material as speedily as possible. 
Business houses are being restored and restaurant keepers are 
conducting business on the sidewalks. 

MIRACULOUS ESCAPE FROM DEATH. 

Some of the escapes of people of Galveston from the storm 
were nothing less than miraculous. Charles Rutter, aged twelve, 
was in his father's house when the waves and wind swept it away. 
The boy seized a floating trunk and was found at Hitchcock, 
twenty miles north. 

The Stubbs family, consisting of father, mother and two 
children, was in its home when it collapsed. They found refuge 
on a floating roof This parted, and father and one child were( 
swept in one direction, while the mother andthe other childdrifted 
in another. One of the children was washed off, but last Sunday 
evening all four were re-united. 

Mrs. P. Watkins is a raving maniac as the result of her 
experiences. With her two children and her mother she wa'* 
drifting on a roof, when her mother and one child were swept 



RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 305 

away. Mrs. Watkins mistakes attendants in tlie Hospital for her 
lost relatives, and clutches wildly for them. 

Harry Steele, a cotton man, and his wife sought safety in 
three successive houses which were demolished. They event- 
ually climbed on a floating door and were saved. \V. R. Jones, 
with fifteen other men, finding the building they were in about to 
fall, made their way to the water tower, and, clasping hands, 
encircled the standpipe, to keep from being washed or blown 
away. 

Mrs. Chapman Bailey, wife of the southern manager of the 
Galveston Wharf Compau}-, and Miss Blanche Kennedy floated 
in the waters, ten to twent}^ feet deep, all night and day by catch- 
ing wreckage. Finally they got into a wooden bath-tub and 
were driven into the Gulf over night. The incoming tide drove 
them back to Galveston, and the}^ were rescued the next day. 
They were fearfully bruised. All their relatives \/ere drowned. 

A Texas journal commented as follows upon the great dis- 
aster : 

" Galveston thanks the nation. Her citizens, still staggering 
under the blows dealt b}^ the hurricane, have been aroused to con- 
fidence again and inspired for the work of restoring their home 
city, by the magnificent expression of sympathy and kindliness 
which their fellow countrymen have made by means of their great 

relief fund. 

NEW LIFE IN THE CITY. 

" For two days after the hurricane the people of Galveston 
heard practically nothing from the outside world. Then meager 
news came. To-day for the first time the stor^^ of the response of 
the American people to the stricken city's involuntary appeal for 
relief has been brought in. 

" The hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash given for the 
use of the city, the many relief trains, laden with supplies of food, 
so much needed, and of medical and surgical appliances, still 
more needed, the oncoming bands of doctors and nurses and 
guards, mean new life to this city. 

" Despair is gone. To-day the spirit of the citizens may well 



306 RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 

be expressed in tlie fine words wliicli one of them quoted to-day. 
They are taken from the doorway of a church in Tyrol, where the 
half-obliterated letters represent the wisdom of centuries, and the 
thoughts of Galveston men of to-day. 

" Look not mournfully into the past. 
It comes not back again. Wisely 
Improve the present. It is thine. 
Go forth to meet the shadowy future 
Without fear and with a manly heart. 

" The contributions and gifts of the people of the United 
States are the subject of conversation wherever men meet on the 
streets. That a city, which had met with disaster only five days 
ago, could now be the recipient of a fund w^hich is already approx- 
imating half a million dollars, seems well-nigh incredible. 

" Galveston has been better treated than was Chicago after 
its great fire, or than were the sufferers in western Pennsylvania 
after the Johnstown flood. The spirit is the same, but has grown 
great with good times and swift with good hearts. 

SWIFT TRAINS LOADED WITH SUPPLIES. 

"The bulletins which come through Governor Sayres at Dal-x 
las, who is earning the gratitude of Galveston people by his good 
work for them, tell of swift trains coming from the Atlantic and 
the Pacific laden with supplies. They tell of gifts of many 
thousands of dollars from great corporations and rich men of the 
country, and as well of gifts from the poorer classes in cities and 
villages in all parts of the Union. How Governor Roosevelt 
stopped on his speaking tour long enough to wire an appeal to 
the citizens of his State for relief funds, how other governors have 
issued appeals, and how Americans even as far away as Paris 
'have spontaneously met and contributed large sums, have all been 
heard here. 

''It is a wonderful thing," said Mayor Jones, "and one 
which speaks for the high character of our American citizens, 
that so much should be done for this city so quickl}'. I have just 



I 



RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 3()7 

Heard from Governor Sayres that all sorts of people are contribut- 
ing. His message said that many of the churches of the land 
would take special contributions for our benefit. 

"I cannot say how grateful I and all the people of Galveston 
are for this splendid treatment. We will show our thankfulness 
by going ahead with our own work, and making a new Galveston 
on the spot where the old one was so nearly annihilated." 

The mayor's confidence in the future of Galveston is shared 
by the greater part of the business men. Two days ago all were 
downcast, pessimistic and despondent. Man}' even talked of 
abandoning Galveston entirely and helping to build a new city 
on some other location. Already the mournful past has begun to 
be cast behind. The conditions of the present are being studied, 
and the very best that is possible will be made out of the future. 

"GALVESTON SHALL RISE AGAIN." 

Two daily papers have already resumed their issues, and 
their appearance helped to restore confidence. Both of them had 
stirring editorials, and that of one had for its keynote, " Galves- 
ton Shall Rise Again." There was not a half hearted word in 
the editorial. It urged that people bury their dead, succor their 
living, and then start resolutely to work to mend the broken 
things and to build the city anew. 

Galveston will not be abandoned for a location on higher 
ground somewhere else. It has too fine a climate, it is too well 
known as a summer resort, and it has too great advantages in its 
bathing beaches to make abandonment a possible thing, even 
should business seek to move away. 

But business will not go away. If the railroads replace theii 
-fridges, terminals and wharves, that means that they have con 
fidence in the future of the city, and adds to the confidence of the 
citizens. It is perfectly clear already that the railroads entering 
Galveston are quickly going to do their share in the work of 
reconstruction. 

The Southern Pacific railroad has had men investigating its 
wharves and tracks, and it has announced through General Man- 



308 RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 

ager Van Vleck that, althougli the damage to its property in this 
city is fully 80 per cent, it will proceed to restore it as rapidly as 
possible. Mr. Van Vleck says that men and mortar are already 
being carried to Virginia Point for work on the bridge, and that 
inside of forty days he expects to be running trains into Galveston 
again. He will not work in connection with any other road, nor 
build a joint bridge to the city, but he says his company will 
permit other roads to use the bridge when it is ready. 

The scenes on the streets when provisions are being distrib- 
uted are pathetic ip. the extreme. Many families, among whose 
members hunger was possibly never felt before, are being supplied 
with provisions. Wizened-faced, bare-footed children were to be 
seen on the street eagerly appropriating spoiled and cast-off stocks 

of food. 

SYSTEMATIC RELIEF. 

The committee is trying to systematize the work, so as to 
relieve the worst cases first. Mayor Jones said : 

"We have made such arrangements as will make it possible 
for us to feed the needy until we can get in full supplies. We are 
relieving every case presented to us. I think within a day or two 
our transportation facilities will be suf&cient temporarily to meet 
our needs. Galveston has helped other cities in their distress, 
despite her size, and we are consoled by the generous response of 
the country to our appeal. " 

The committee has instructed the local drug stores to provide 
the poor and needy with medicine at the expense of the relief fund. 

Every strong-limbed man who has not his own home and 
property to look after is being pressed into the service of the city. 
First of all, it is necessary to get the waterworks in good condi- 
tion, so that water may be turned into the mains, the gutters 
flushed, and the sewers made usable. The lack of water since the 
flood has contributed much to the discomfort and the danger to 
health. 

Volunteer gangs continue their work of hurried burial of the 
corpses they find on the shores of Galveston Island at the neigh- 
boring points where fatalities attended the storm. It will prob- 



RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 309 

abl37 be many days, however, before all the floating bodies have 
found nameless graves. Along the beach they are constantly 
being washed up. Whether these are those who were swept out 
into the Gulf and drowned or are simply the return ashore of some 
of those cast into the sea to guard against terrible pestilence, there 
-is no means of knowing. 

In various parts of the city the smell of decomposed flesh is 
still apparent. Wherever such instances are found the authorities 
are freely disinfecting. Only to-day a babe lashed to a mattress 
was picked up under a residence in the very heart of the city and 
burned. 

The following editorial, signed by the publishers, A. H. 
Belo & Co., appeared September 13th in the "Galveston News" : 

HOMES MUST BE REPAIRED. 

"At the first meeting of Galveston's citizens, Sunday after- 
noon, after the great hurricane, for the purpose of bringing order 
out of chaos, the only sentiment expressed was that Galveston 
had received an awful blow. The loss of life and property is 
appalling — so great that it required several days to form anything 
like a correct estimate. With sad and aching hearts, but with 
resolute faces, the sentiment of the meeting was that out of the 
awful chaos of wrecked homes and wretched business Galveston 
must rise again. 

"The sentiment was not that of burying the dead and giving 
up the ship, but rather bury the dead, succor the needy, appeal 
for aid from a charitable world, and then start resolutely to work 
to mend the broken chains. In many cases the work of upbuild- 
ing must begin over. In other cases the destruction is only 
partial. Still, the sentiment was, Galveston will, Galveston 
must, survive and fulfill her glorious destiny. Galveston shall 
rise again. 

" Galveston having been isolated since the storm of last Sat- 
urday night, the stricken citizens of the town have not been 
informed as to the thrill of horror which went over the world when 
the news of the catastrophe was spread. The Associated Press 



310 RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 

brings tlie cheering news that in every town and city in the United 
States, commercial, religious and charitable bodies have organized 
into relief committees. At present thousands of dollars and hun- 
dreds of cars of supplies are en route and will reach the sufferers 
of Galveston just as soon as it is possible to boat them across the 
bay. If the desolation here has been awful, the sympathy and ^ 
humanity of a great nation has been ample, and very soon the 
local committees will be enabled to assist the destitute thousands. 
" What the ' News ' desires most to say to the surviving vic- 
tims of last Saturday's catastrophe, is that in the knowledge of a 
world-wide sympathy which is encompassing us, we must not give 
way to despair. If we have lost all else, we still have life and the 
future, and it is toward the future that we must devote the ener- 
gies of our lives. We can never forget what v/e have suffered ; 
we can not forget the thousands of our friends and loved ones who 
found in the angry billows that destroyed them, a final resting 
place. But tears and grief must not make us forget our present 

duties. 

TIME FOR DAUNTLESS COURAGE. 

"The blight and ruin which have desolated Galveston are 
not beyond repair. We must not for a moment think Galveston 
is to be abandoned because of one disaster, however horrible that 
disaster has been. We have our homes here, even if those homes 
are in ruins, and if we loved Galveston before, how much stronger 
must that affection be and how much more sacred it must be when 
we think of our loved ones, whose dust consecrates not only the 
land but the very waves which lash its shores. 

" It is time for courage of the highest ordei. It is time when 
men and women show the stuff that is in them, and we can make 
no loftier acknowledgment of the material sympathy which the 
world- is extending to us than to answer back that after we shall 
have buried our dead, relieved the sufferings of the sick and 
destitute, we will bravely undertake the vast work of restoration 
and recuperation which lies before us, in a manner which shall 
convince the world that we have spirit to overcome misfortune and 
rebuild our homes. In this way we shall prove ourselves worthy of 



RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 311 

the boundless tenderness whicli is being showered upon us in the 
hour of desolation and sorrow." 

Refugees from Galveston, Alvin, Angellon and other places 
are fast scattering throughout the State, Over fifty have arrived 
at Austin and have found temporary homes with friends and rela- 
tives. Many have gone to places in other States. A local Relief 
Committee has been organized in Austin to look after the wants 
of the destitute people as fast as they arrive. They are clothed 
and fed at the expense of the local people, 

Similar committees are being formed in all the principal cities 
and towns of the State. It is expected that this action will assist 
the Relief Committees of Houston and Galveston greatly and will 
also reducethe amount of money required to be expended out of the 
general fund that is accumulating for the benefit of the sufferers. 

Word reached here from Houston that evidences had been 

found there of imposition on the part of chronic tramps who are 

pouring into the city from all directions and claiming to be just 

from Galveston and to have lost everything in the storm. Many 

of these frauds have been exposed and driven out of the city. A 

plan is being arranged whereby all parties seeking help must be 

identified as having come from Galveston or other storm-swept 

towns. 

SERMONS ON GALVESTON. 

The Galveston catastrophe furnished the theme for Rev. Dr. 
Russell H. Conwell's sermon on Sunday, September i6tl], in the 
Temple of Grace Baptist Church, Philadelphia. He attributed 
the disaster to the working of God's immutable laws, and declared 
that the calamity in its end was for the good of all things. At 
the conclusion of his sermon he made an appeal for the aid of the 
sufferers. There was a generous response. Many pledged them- 
selvesves for specific sums. 

Dr. Conwell took his text from Genesis xiii, 36. He said in 
part: " It was Jacob who said 'all things are against me,' but 
Paul said, ' All things work together for good to them that love 
God.' Paul's position was true. Jacob's was untrue. Yet Jacob 
had philosophy in his expression ; but his philosophy was so 



312 RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 

mucli inferior that Paul's inclosed it, left it out of sight. There 
is no sorrow or affliction or pain or death but it worketh out in 
God's hands a greater good. 

"The disaster at Galveston fills me with terror. It was a 
lovely city ; its people kind-hearted and enterprising. The 
destruction of that city so suddenly was God's doing, and conse- 
quently it must be for good. It was His doing and what He does 
is right. The hurricane was the necessasy outcome of all the 
working laws of God. He sent it and it must be for good. We 
can not understand that ; we sit back in our heart's darkness and 
say, ' God is wrong ; He is not governing the universe.' 

BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE. 

" The people who now live in Galveston will be better all their 
lives. This experience has deepened their natures, enriched their 
sympathies, enlarged the boundaries of their feelings, and the 
people of that city will be blessed by that awful experience. They 
are going to be better inspired, more loving toward others, more 
affectionate toward each other, and they are going to be different 
men even without their riches, for riches do not make good men. 
The people of Galveston have been taught that there is something 
more than dollars in this world. The rich will now feel what it 
is to be poor. It does man good to feel the depths of life. Many 
of the survivors will thank God they have to begin life over 
again. 

" This great calamity is good also in that it arouses the 
sympathies of the whole country. When it arouses the sympa- 
thies of many tens of thousands it must be a gigantic force to work 
out an ultimate good. Just think when they begin to build the 
city again ! How many will be benefited ? They will order 
lumber from the North, where the suffering people are waiting 
for the order. They will order millions of dollars worth of goods 
/from Philadelphia, and there are poor people here waiting for that 
work. When you consider how that disaster locally is going to 
bless so many people outwardly, then the measure of its good may 
be far greater than the measure of its evil." 



RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 313 

Rev. Dr. Colfelt, pastor of Oxford Presbyterian ChurcVi, 
toiiching on the Galveston disaster in his sermon on " Repent- 
ance," said : — 

''The changes are so quick and excessive in our mortal life 
that none of us know what to-morrow will bring forth. Not one 
of us knows whether our money will be a blessing or a curse, 
separating us from our good work. Christ declares that disasters 
are not to be interpreted as judgments, but they are simply per- 
sonal. The object in every instance of disaster and calamities is 
to bring us fast to repentance." 

The ministers in nearly all of the churches referred to the 
Galveston calamity in their sermons. At the close special col- 
lections were taken. 

MAKES THE WHOLE WORLD KIN. 

Galveston's great calamity was the central thought in many 
sermons preached in Chicago, and in a majority of the churches 
a collection was taken for the benefit of the sufferers. Some of 
the expressions were as follows : 

The Rev. William A. Burch (South Park Avenue Methodist 
Church) — "Snch catastrophes reveal the worst and the best. 
There was mutilation of the sacred dead. But so on every battle- 
field a glittering diamond on the finger or in the ear excites the 
passions of men. But look at the better side. A cry for help 
went up and the nation was moved. Responses started with tens 
of thousands of dollars, and will run into hundreds of thousands. 
Human sympathy has mightil}^ grown." 

The Rev. Charles Reynolds (North Congregational Churchy 
Fifty-ninth and La Salle streets) — " We have heard the news of 
the terrible calamity, also heard of the depravity of the human 
ghouls who pounced upon the dead for robbery, and how they 
were shot down like dogs. The whole has been like a terrible 
nightmare. Then we must look for a bright side. We rejoice at 
the noble gifts made by the people of the United States, especially 
Chicago. The lesson of the terrible catastrophe is that we at all' 
times must be prepared to meet our God. We are facing death. 



314 RESCUE OF THE TERISHING. 

Which may come at auy moment, like it did upon those poor souls 
111 (j-alvestou." 

ChJ^'h""' ^'"""'^ ^'"°"'' (^'- ^""''^ Reformed Episcopal 
Chu ch, Adams street and Winchester avenue)-" From breakin.. 
hearts we nrust say, ' Father in heaven, all is well, though faith 
and form are sundered in the night of fear. ' The lesson of self- 
help which th,s calamity teaches will not be lost. God intended 
.nan to conquer nature, to bind its forces, to ride triumphantly on 
Its seemmgly resistless energies. Galveston must not be blotted 
out. It must nse to ne^vness of life. Like our own Chicago it 
must be rebuilt on a higher level. It must rear its structure so 
hat the angnest waves shall not dash them to pieces. Another 
ma:,kind ' ""'^^ ''"^' ^°' energy will thus be learned by 

MISFORTUNES MAKE US ONE. 
terialchu^ n ^f^'J^^-^Witt Talmage (Jefferson Park Presby- 

On Ive? • ^~ ^1''^''°* ""^'"^y '^'' misfortune happened. 
Only eternity can solve for ns the mystery, but we can learn two 

Zoo^^"'T *''^"'^ ""' °' ^^'P '° "•'■ God has made of one 
blood all nations. The misfortunes of mankind make us one 
and when we hear the call we can hear Christ say, 'Inasmuch a 
Zt7'r " ""'" °- °f *^ l-=t of these, i'. have d^ne i: 

land'^Bout"'^. ^'TtF "^^''^'^ <^°""'' ^=^P''^' Church, Ash- 
brWs mo e™ ^'""™'^ ^""^^'^-" '^^'^ Galveston horror 

man! „d fT"",^ "'° "°'''' '^' ""^^^^^ brotherhood of 
mankind, and shows that when suffering humanity calls the 
response IS liberal and widespread. Such" a disaster"^ put aside 

b n^S:: "--"d-""' "'' "^° ^°'"^^ '° regard mauL a felW 
being without prejudice as to color or social position " 

Church)' ^iJ' \ •?. ,^"™^'-'J''^^ (Adams Street Methodist 
warnTniTo tl "'''t ''."f ^<^ ?- '^^ -"d, and its destruction is a 
Hes of ?>, '^"■' "'^° ^°'^'' '^' foundation in the bean- 

victims of the most appalhngdisaster of the century is the unfold 
mg of the world's friendship. " ^ 



RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 315- 

The admirable courage and determination with which the 
survivors faced the terrible situation are well expressed in the 
following editorial of a leading journal : 

"While the catastrophe at Galveston is calling forth proofs 
of sympathy and a spirit of practical helpfulness on every hand, 
the people of Galveston themselves are giving the world an equally 
notable proof of courage and sturdy resolution. The situation as 
it has developed from day to day has afforded a striking evidence 
of their ability to pull themselves together and prepare to face the 
future. The conditions which they had to confront on the days 
immediately following the catastrophe, when they were cut off 
even from communication of the outer world and were alone in 
their knowledge of the extent of the calamity, must have been 
appalling beyond conception. 

NO WEAK FIBRE IN GALVESTON PEOPLE. 

^' Stunned by a disaster in which individual griefs were lost in a 
common horror and the presence of death on all sides made the 
finding of the dead an incident of commonplace, they could 
scarcely have been expected to act with energy, organization or 
promptitude. The blow sustained by the city must have seemed 
irreparable. 

"Irreparable it would have been if the Galveston men and 
women had been pf weaker fiber. It stands to their credit that 
as soon as the clear comprehension of their misfortune came to 
them they faced it resolutely, and pushing aside individual griefs, 
set themselves to piT)tect those who were still living. They 
recognized the futility of lamentation, and the necessity of fore- 
going the rites and formalities which men hold to be sacred 
obligations to the dead. Now that the worst part of their terrible 
task is over, the reports indicate that they are setting themselves 
in the same spirit to the work of rebuilding Galveston and mak- 
ing of it such a city as it had never before been expected to be. 

" There is no more talk about abandoning the site or allow- 
ing the city to pass into a stage of decadence. The town is to 
be rebuilt, from its ruins, and it is not merely to be rebuilt but 



316 RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 

to be improved. Judging from the feeling manifested among tlie 
people of tiie city, they will come in the future to celebrate ' flood 
day ' in much the same spirit that Chicago commemorates the 
anniverary of its great fire, 

" The outside world has a double duty to discharge in helping 
'the people who are showing this resolution and pluck in a time of 
severest trial. It would have been a duty to have given them aid 
in any event. But the way in which they are meeting their 
calamity indicates a courage and a strength of character to which 
the world can well afford to pay tribute. No effort should be 
spared to help those who are so bravely trying to help themselves. 

" * The Daily News' is glad to say that in discussing Galves- 
ton's future it is discussing what is to be a fact — a fact, moreover, 
inspiring in its lesson of invincible Anglo-Saxon will and courage 
that rises equal to all occasions and throws down the challenge to 

despair. 

HOPE FOR THE RUINED CITY. 

" Outside of Galveston, when the news came of the awful 
destruction by hurricane and ocean combined, there were not a few 
who asked, as did ' The Daily News,' ' Will Galveston be rebuilt ?' 
and paused for a reply. The answer has come promptly and with 
a ring of determination and hope that makes Americans proud of 
the Galvestonians — Yes, Galveston will be rebuilt. ' It will rise 
greater and better than ever.' 

" And it is now known that this resolution, taken on Sunday 
afternoon, almost before the great storm had begun to subside, 
has been caught up not only by Galvestonians themselves but by 
all the great business interests centering there, and is re-echoed 
from all parts of the United States. Chairman Walker of the 
board of directors of the Atchison, Topeka & Sante Fe Railroad 
says the city will be rebuilt and doing business at the old stand 
in three months. The of&cials of this road further say that in six 
days the bridge from Virginia Point will have been built and 
trains running over it. 

" A like spirit is being manifested by other steamship com- 
panies, whose trade doubled Galveston's export business between 



RESCUE OF THE PERISHING. 317 

1892 and 1899, making it rank fourtk as an export port in the 
United States, only New York, Boston, and Baltimore surpass- 
ing it. 

" Leading business and representative men of Galveston, also, 
instead of sitting down in despair, have been busy at work bury- 
ing or otherwise disposing of their dead, clearing away the debris 
and getting the city in shape again as rapidly as possible. 

" In the face of such a gallant spirit and purpose, difficulties 
and discouragements which at first were appalling will disappear. 
In its heroic work its strength and hope will be all the greater for 
the friendly aid and encouragement and the munificent generos-' 
ity of America and Europe which will help Galveston to get upon 
its feet again." 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Startling Havoc Made by the Angry Storm — Vessels Far Out 

on the Prairie — Urgent Call for Millions of Dollars — 

Tangled Wires and Mountains of Wreckage. 

pOLONEIv"BILL" STERRETT, a well-known publisher of 
v^ Austin, went to Galveston after the storm and the sights he 
saw during his stay there are thus described by him : 

" How to commence the story bothers. Whether to start out 
with the absolute truth and wind the sheet about the whole thing 
with the simple expression ' unspeakable ' or to go on and hint the 
details inexpressibly sad, intimate the horrors, is the question. 

"It would be better for the heart if a veil could fall from 
heaven and conceal what it has done. It would be better if a fog, 
thick, like a wall, should come up between the sea and the land 
that the latter might never see the crime of the former. For if 
calm humanity shrieked against the awfulness of the one element, 
it has done it now. 

"The broad pampa between Houston and Galveston had been 
flooded. The towns which in the last ten years had grown were 
scared and torn by this fiend. Its anger was shown in pastures as 
well as in towns, and yet none knew the fury of it. There were re- 
ports of destruction further on, and the truth of them impressed 
each man in the cars as the cars counted off its rattleteteck in tolU 
off the miles. 

" Against a barbed wire fence the bloated carcasses of cattle 
had floated, their swollen limbs stiff toward the sky, and yet others 
browsed around in the meadow now which was a roaring sea but 
four days ago. The sight was the first he saw of death, and ever)/ 
man in the car, as to avoid the fear that arose in the mind of each, 
began to express wonder how this could be, that is, that some of 
these poor brutes were dead and others living. There were vessels 
of all tonnage, kinds and degrees on the prairie. 

"Out there was a tramp steamship, the other way was the 

318 



HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 319 

dredge boat ; there were yachts, schooners and launches, but near 
ns was the hobby horse of a child. And so help me, I would 
rather have seen all the vessels of the earth stranded high and dry 
than to have seen this child's toy, standing right out on that 
prairie, masterless. Because one represented — well, why, say God, 
man's heart is so weak. But surely he will forgive it when it is 
soft for those who are weak. 

" Debris of all kinds covered the prairie. It was from Galves- 
ton, because it could be from no other place. Every ant hill was 
covered with the remnants of homes in the city, six miles away. 
There were lace curtains, furniture of all kinds, but mostly of the 
cheap kind. There were toys, ladies' toilet articles, bed clothes, 
and, in fact, everything that goes to make up a home. This point 
was Texas City, six miles away from Galveston, across the bay. 
The town had suffered badly. 

GENTLE AS A COUNTRY POND. 

" Human lives were lost there, and the agony of it was great, 
but above all was the idea, ' What of across the bay ? ' It was six 
miles dead across, and a schooner was in waiting to take us over. 
But before it landed there was a chance of observation of the ba}^, 
in which the waters now gently lisped. For the bay was as gentle 
as a country pond. It lisped and kissed the few blades of grass 
that grew down where the rise and fall of the ridge was natural. 
It did not moan like the sea. It merely gurgled. But every little 
wave threw up and agitated the dead. Bloated horses and cows 
which provident housekeepers in the city across the water had 
owned and petted were there. Chickens, rats, dogs, cats and ever}-^- 
thing, it seemed, that breathed, was there, dead and swollen and 
^aaking the air nauseous. 

) " But by their sides were people. The worn-out people of the 
district, having saved their own lives and buried their dead, were 
quick to respond to natural instincts and do right by their kind. I 
saw them take swollen women and swollen men and swollen chih 
dren and with quick shift place them in two-foot graves. It was 
terrible, but what could they do ? 



320 HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 

*' There were no burial services. The men who did work werfe 
simply doing what they could to relieve the air of them. They 
were not gentle, but how could they be gentle, when the bodies lay 
there with their black faces, with their terribly swollen tongues and 
the odor of decomposition threatening those who lived ? 

" In the debris from Galveston was everything. I was struck 
with the idea that this must have impressed the people that the 
world had come to an end. For twenty-five miles on the land into 
the interior this disorderly element raged. It destroyed and it 
mangled, and when it ceased really the sea had given up its dead 
and the secrets of life were revealed, for walking among the debris 
I found a trunk. It had been broken open by the waves. 

" Letters were blurred by the waves. I picked up one, and it 
began, ' My darling little wife,' and I closed it and threw it among 
its fellows on the drift. She was dead. She had kept this letter. 
Their sacred relations were exposed by this terror to those who 
would read them. There were dozens of men who picked up those 
letters. No one read them, for man is not so bad after all. 

WRINGING THEIR HANDS IN AGONY. 

" Two women — I talked to them — had left two children each 
in Galveston in the destroyed district, and they sat through that 
whole five hours' trip wringing their hands and trying to curb the 
volcano of lamentation which lies in the mother's heart when those 
of her flesh are imperiled or dead. 

" We passed corpses. We passed the corpses of men and 
women and children. The moon was out, floating real brilliantly, 
and the boat cut past, barely missing a woman with her face 
turned toward God and the sky. I fervently prayed I might never 
the the like again. And when we reached the wharf, torn and 
skinned so that we had to creep to land, I saw beneath me, white 
and naked seven bodies. 

" My very soul turned cold at the grewsome sight. Horrible ! 
The contemplation of it yet makes me sick, though I have seen 
things since then that make me and would make the world sick, 
if I wejre able to describe them, unto death." 



HAVOC M.XDi: j;\' liii': a.\(;ky s'I'orm. 321 

Of the pitiful tales, that of Thomas Klec, of Galveston, is one 
of the most pitiful. His wife was away from home when the house 
was destroyed, and has not since been heard from. Klee with his 
infant boy and girl in his arms was carried for an hour in the 
whirling water. Once he tried to fasten the four year old girl in 
the branches of a tree, but she was torn from his arms while he 
was trying to make her fast. When he finally gained a firm foot- 
hold he found his boy dead in his arms. Since that time he has 
hardl}^ been a conscious being and he is still in the hospital at 
Houston, where he was taken Friday. 

The body of a nephew of Alderman John Wagner, a youth 
eighteen years old, was found lodged in the forks of a tall cedar 
tree on Galveston Island, two miles from his wrecked home, and 
tightly clinched with a death grip in his right hand was $200 
which his father gave him to hold while the father attempted to 
close a door, when the house went down and the whole family 
perished in the storm and flood. 

CLASPED HANDS AND ESCAPED. 

Encircling a water stand pipe with clasped hands, W. R. Jones 
and fifteen other men prevented themselves from being carried 
away by the water, and so saved their lives at Galveston. 

In a wooden bathtub Mrs. Chapman Bailey and Miss Blanche 
Kennedy were carried out into the gulf, where they spent Saturday 
night. Not till the next morning did the tide bring them back to 
where the rescuing parties could reach them. Neither of them has 
a relative in Galveston left alive. 

Captain John Delaney, chief customs inspector of the port of 
Galveston, is one of the courageous men of the town. He lost his 
entire family, wife, son and daughters, but his sixty years were 
not bowed by his fate. The day following the disaster he was at 
his post, attired in a suit of overalls, the only clothing he had 
saved from the wreck of his home, and he has inspected all the 
vessels that have arrived since then. 

Along the Galveston wharf front the storm was particularly 

violent. The big steel tank of the AVaters-Pierce Oil Company, 
21 



B22 HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 

in which was stored during the season cotton seed oil, at the foc.»t 
of Fifteenth street, was blown to Twenty-first street, a distance of 
six blocks. It landed on its bottom and rests now in an uoright 
position. It is a large tank arvd heavy, but the elements got the 
better of it. 

RESCUED TWO BABES FROM DEATH. 

Ray Ayers, an eight year old boy, unwittingly rescued his 
sister's two babies during the flood. He was floating on a raft in 
Galveston when he passed a box with the two children in it. He 
siezed them, but the weight was too heavy for his raft, and so he 
placed them on two bales of hay on top of a floating shed. When 
he found his sister he learned that her children were lost, and 
when a searchipg party discovered them, they were still sleeping, 
unconscious of their danger. 

James Battersole, of Galveston, was one of the men who were 
carried far out to sea during the storm, whirled back again in the 
rush of waters, and lived to tell of it. The roof of his house, on 
which he had sought refuge, served as his raft, and the spot on 
which he landed was very close to the location his house had 
formerly occupied. 

Margaret Lee's life was saved at the expense of her brother's. 
The woman was in he Twelfth street home, in Galveston, when 
the hurricane struck. Her brother seized her and guided her to 
St. Mary's University, a short distance away. He returned to 
search for his son, and was killed by a falling house. 

While George Boyer, of Galveston, was being carried with 
frightful velocity down the bay he saw the dead face of his wife in 
the branches of a tree. The woman had been wedged firmly 
between two branches. 

Mrs. P. Watkins is a raving maniac as the result of her ex- 
perience. With her two children and her mother she wa* drifting 
on a roof, when her mother and one child were swept away. Mrs. 
Watkins mistakes attendants in the hospital for her lost relatives, 
aud clutches wildly for them. 

Harry Steele, a cotton man. and his wife sougkt safety in 



HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 323 

three successive houses, which were demolished. Thc}- eventuall}' 
climbed on a floating door and were saved. 

Though separated by the storm and washed in different direc- 
tions all the members of the Stubbs family, of Galveston, were 
rescued. Father, mother and two children were on a floating roof 
that broke in pieces. The father, with one child, went one way. 
The mother went another, and the remaining children went in 
still a third direction. Sunday evening all four were reunited. 

L. F. Menage, of Austin, who returned from Galveston Friday 
night, reached the Tremont Hotel, Galveston, the Friday evening' 
before the terrible storm began. He says it has been the most ter- 
rible week in his experience , the most awful two days a man 
could imagine were the Sunday and Monday succeeding the 
hurricane. 

"ALL GONE!- ALL GONE!" 

" One man would ask another how his family had come out," 
said Mr. Menage last night, " and the answer would be indifferent 
and hard — almost ofiish : ' Oh, all gone.' 'All gone ' was the 
phrase on all sides. 

" The night before the disaster, when I reached the hotel, it 
was blowing rather hard, and the clerk said we were in for a storm, 
and I asked him if his roof was firmly fixed, and he said, ' Well, 
it won't be quite as bad as that,' but by the next night at the same 
time there was three feet of water in the rotunda and the skylight 
had fallen in and the servants' annex been blown to pieces, and the 
place was crowded with refugees who arrived from all points of the 
city in boats. Saturday night there was little sleep, yet no one 
realized the extent of the disaster. 

" On Sunday morning one could walk on the higher streets, so 
quickly had the water gone down. I took a walk along the beach, 
and the place was one great litter of overturned houses, debris of 
all kinds and corpses. I met one woman who burst into tears at 
sight of a small rocker, her property, mixed in among the wreck- 
age. She had lost all her family in the flood. People were for the 
most part bereft of their senses from the horror, and a single 

9r 



324 HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 

funeral would have seemed more terrible—more solemn — -than a 
pile of cremated bodies. 

"The tales of looting are only too true, and as I passed north- 
ward in a sailboat on Tuesday I heard the shots ring out which 
told that some ghoul was paying the penalty. Galveston will rise 
again on the old site, and without as much difficulty as is at 
present anticipated. Most of the people will, however, try and live 
on the mainland. 

Miss Sarah K. Pilkington, a •well-known young woman of ^ 
Chester, Penna., was one of those who escaped the terrible storm 
which broke over Galveston. Miss Pilkington left Houston just 
a few hours before the dreadful storm broke, but she was suffi- 
ciently near its origin to hear the rush and roar of the wind. " I 
distinctly remember," said she, " the approach of the hurricane. 
It sounded like two express trains, each rumbling in opposite 
directions. Suddenly there was a loud report similar to the noise 
of a big collision, and the tornado was separated, one portion 
going in the direction of Galveston, the other wending its way 
toward Houston. I was staying at Milliken." 

For some time after the hurricane Miss Pilkington could not 
be communicated with, and it was thought for a week that she had 
perished in the tornado. 

NO TIME TO DIG GRAVES. 

Galveston, Texas, Tuesday. — The work of digging bodies 
from the mass of wreckage still continues. More than 400 bodies 
were taken out of the debris which lines the beach front to-day. 
With all that has been done to recover bodies buried beneath or 
pinned in the immense rift, the work has hardly started. There 
is no time to dig graves, and the bodies, beaten and bruised beyond^ 
identification, are hastily consigned to the flames. 

Volunteers for this work are coming in fast. Men who have 
heretofore avoided the dead under ordinary conditions are now 
working with vigorous will and energy in putting them away. 
Under one pile of wreckage this afternoon twenty bodies were taken 
out and cremated. In another pile a man pulled out the bodies of 



HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. <325 

two children, and for a moment gazed upon them and then 
mechanically cast them into the fire. They were his own children. 
He watched them until they were consumed and then he resumed 
his work, assisting in removing other bodies. 

A large force of men are still engaged in removing the dead 
from Kurd's lane, about four miles west of the citj-. At this point 
the water ran to a height of fourteen feet, and left in trees and 
fences the bodies of men, women, and children, which are now 
being collected and cremated. 

On the mainland the search for and cremation of bodies is 
being vigorously prosecuted. Reports received from Bolivar Penin- 
sula, where between 300 and 400 bodies were lying along the 
beach and inland, show that the dead are being buried as rapidly 
as possible. The man bringing the report says the force is inade- 
quate and should be immediately increased. 

DISINFECTING THE CITY. 

The manner of disposing of the wreckage and its mass of 
bodies in this city has not as yet been definitely decided upon. 
Every energy is now employed in getting rid of the dead, opening 
streets, cleaning alle3AS and gutters and disinfecting the city. 
When this is done the removal of the immense mass of debris will 
commence. Everything is in readiness to turn on the current for 
the electric lights in the business district, but because of the 
danger from hanging wires on the circuit, the lighting has been 
indefinitely postponed. Three telephone wires are now working 
between Galveston and Houston. 

Chairman Davidson, of the Relief Committee, says the great- 
,est sufferers from the storm are those persons of limited means 
who owned homes near the beach. There are hundreds of these, 
who owned lots, and by giving liens upon them, had homes con- 
structed by loan companies. 

A. Holzman, representing Frederick G. Holzman, of Cincin- 
nati, purchaser of the sewerage bonds of the cit}^ of Galveston to 
the amount of $300,000, arrived to-day and consulted with the cit)^ 
of&cials as to whether it was proposed to accept a sewerage system 



826 HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 

in accordance with plans adopted prior to the storm. He received 
assurances that the storm would in no wa}^ affect the construc- 
tion of the sewerage system, and as soon as possible work would 
commence. 

W. B. Groseclose, assistant general freight agent of the Mis- 
souri, Kansas and Texas Railroad, reached Galveston this evening, 
He says the road will commence to receive grain for shipment to 
Galveston on September 22. A large force of men is engaged 
repairing one of the railroad bridges across Galveston Bay. 

A force of Deputy United States Marshals under Marshal 
Grant is guarding the entrance to Galveston, at Texas City, and 
keeping away all persons who can show no good cause for coming 
here. Crowds are daily leav^ing the city, a majority being women 
and children. The city is still under martial law, and will remain 
so indefinitely. Idlers and sightseers who elude the guards on the 
mainland are upon their arrival here pressed into the street 
service. 

SOME ACCOUNT OF CLARA BARTON. 

Galveston, Tex., Septenber 18. — Clara Barton, President of 
the Red Cross Society, who came here to distribute relief supplies, 
was stricken down at her work to-day while ministering to the vic- 
tims of the Galveston storm. She succumbed, like a soldier, at her 
post. To-night she lies seriously ill at the Tremont Hotel. 

She was stricken at a conference in her rooms at the Tremont, 
with her staff of nine gathered about her. She had just finished 
an outline of her work, assigning each member of her staff to the 
particular part of the work that one was to do. Suddenly she 
ceased speaking. Turning to Mrs. Ellen Spencer Mussey, Vice- 
President of the Red Cross, who sat at her side, she whispered : 

" Begin talking. I am going to faint. Don't let them see." 

Miss Barton leaned back in her chair and Mrs. Mussey arose, 
and, standing before her, began speaking. Without a sign to the 
others Mrs. Mussey finished what she had to sa}-- and then dis- 
missed the conference. 

Galveston people arose with heavy hearts this morning. Thou- 



HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 327 

sands of them were driven from tlieir beds. Shortly after sun: ise 
there came a downpour of rain, the first since the storm. If there 
was a house in town that had been sufficient!}^ repaired to shed the 
rain it was a rare exception. Cremation of the dead and clearing 
the streets have taxed the energies. There has not been time to 
give attention to roofs. Such repairs as have been made to build- 
ings have been in the form of straightening and strengthening 
them so that they might not fall down. Many, while still standing, 
are leaning like the tower of Pisa or are partly off the foundations. 

FAC7d:S OVERSPREAD WITH SADNESS. 

From this it will be understood that when the rain poured 
down it entered the houses still called habitable and drenched the 
contents again. The faces of the people showed the influence of 
the rain. They were overspread with sadness. The hopefulness 
which had been lighting up the features was gone. But it was 
only an hour of depression. Then the shower, for that was all it 
proved to be, passed. The sun come out. 

All Galveston went to work with renewed energy. Three or 
four horse cars made their appearance and, drawn by mules, were 
operated over several streets. At the wharves there was activity. 
The loading of wheat for export was commenced. Cremation and 
cleaning went on. The finding and burning of over loo bodies in 
the day shows that the end of this duty is not yet in sight. 

In the southern and southwestern part of the city the great 
windrow of wreckage still stands, concealing from sight but not 
from smell what is underneath. Word was sent along the inner 
side of the windrow to occupants of houses near that the}^ must 
move back a block. The impression is that this means the author- 
ities have decided they will apply the torch to the great heaps 
whenever a favorable wind from the north will make burning safe, 
for the rest of the city. This action has been strongly advocated^' 

The tents have come and with board floors and fences separat- 
ing them now make a white city on the beach front where the 
houses were swept away. They will be much safer and more 
healthy than many of the shattered buildings which are still occu- 



328 HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 

pied by the poorer classes. There have been till now some people 
finding shelter in the wooden cisterns which the wind blew off 
their foundations and left lying about the streets and parks. 
Others are in houses without roofs and windows and still others in 
buildings the walls of which are far from perpendicular. 

The following detailed account of the experience of the Rev. 
Judson S. Palmer and his family, formerly of Sharon, Penna., in the 
disaster at Galveston, was received at the former place in a letter. 
Mrs. Palmer and her son were drowned. 

ROOF BLOWN AWAY. 

About four o'clock Dr. Cline, who was in charge of the Weather 
Bureau at Galveston, the letter stated, passed, and Rev. Palmer 
asked him what they had better do. He advised them to stay 
in the house, as he thought it was perfectly safe. The storm 
increased and the water flowed into the yard. Mr. Palmer went 
downstairs and found the wind had blown down the front door 
and several windows. 

About dark sections of the roof were blown off and all the per- 
sons in the house went into Mr. Palmer's room. There a prayer 
meeting was held, all joining in pra^-er and singing. Little Lee's 
prayer was : " Dear Jesus, do make the water recede and give us a 
nice day to play to-morrow." 

After that all who could went into the bathroom. The water 
arose until it came up to the necks of Mr. Palmer and his wife, 
They then stepped upon the edge of the bathtub, Mr. Palmer hold 
ing Lee, with his little arms clasping the father about the neck. 
Mrs. Palmer held to the shower-bath fixtures overhead and passed 
her other arm around her husband's neck. Suddenly there was a 
grinding noise. The house upset. There was a rush of water 
and all were engulfed in the flood. 

Mr. Palmer and his family became separated and he never saw 
them again. He went to the bottom as he was sure he was drown- 
ing. Suddenly he was caught by a swift current and arose to the 
surface. He crawled upon what he believed to be a bundle of shut- 
ters and drifted until his raft struck a shed and it sank. After 



HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 329 

several hours he succeeded in getting on one of the outbuildings 
of the Catholic convent, where he remained until the water receded 
Mrs. Palmer's body and that of her son were not recovered. 

On vSeptember 20th a correspondent furnished the following 
facts : " Normal conditions are being restored swiftly in Galveston. 
The work of clearing the streets of debris continues unabated and 
all relief work is now thoroughly systematized. Several human 
bodies were found to-day. No attempt was made to identify them, 
and they were ir^mediately cremated. 

NECESSARY BUREAUS. 

" A census bureau was placed in operation to-day. A mortuary 
bureau has also been opened where relatives or friends are to make 
oath of the known death of persons lost in the storm. Hanna & 
Leonard's new elevator began business to-night. The British 
steamer Endeavor went under the spouts and is taking on a full 
cargo of wheat. 

" At a meeting of the general relief committee to-day no one 
was found who would undertake the job of removing the city's 
debris on contract, as all state it would be impossible to make a 
definite estimate. The nearest estimate expert wreckers will make 
is that it will take 2000 men ninety days to clear away the debris 
and get all of the bodies out, and that this will cost $500,000. The 
board adopted a resolution stating that it was its opinion that the 
best way to solve the problem of clearing the debris was to let a 
contract to some one to do this work. 

" Dr. George H. Lee, inspector of hospitals and dispensaries, 
made a favorable report on the sanitary condition of the cit3\ The 
losses to the life insurance companies are estimated at $500,000. 
Most of those who carried old line life policies escaped. The fra- 
ternal orders will lose heavily." 

Governor Sayers, speaking of the situation at Galveston said : 

" I look for ^he rebuilding of Galveston to be well under way 
by the latter p.- : of this week. The work of cleaning the city of 
unhealthful refuse and burying the dead will have been completed 
by that time. 



330 HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 

" Tlie loss of life occasioned by tlie storm in Galveston and 
elsewhere on the southern coast cannot be less than 12,000 lives, 
while the loss of property will probably aggregate $20,000,000. 

" If the laboring people of Galveston will only get to work in 
earnest, prosperity will soon again smile on the city. The money 
and food contriu:Ttions coming from a generous people have been a 
great help to the people of Galveston, as it has relieved them of 
the necessity of spending their money to support the needy, and it 
can now be applied to the improvements of their own property and 
putting again on foot their business enterprises. 

" The work of clearing the streets of debris is progressing 
rapidly under the perfect organization instituted by military rule 
under Adjutant-General Scurr3^ Over tw^o thousand men are 
engaged on the work. Ninety-eight bodies are reported as hav- 
ing been found in the wreckage and removed to-day. Bodies 
found are buried or cremated and no systematic record has been 
kept. The storm wrecked almost every vault in the six cemeteries 
of the city, and many of the dead were w^ashed to sea in metal 
cases. So far only one casket has been found. It had been carried 
three miles from the vault. 

WORK PUSHED WITH VIGOR. 

" The work under the direction of the health department is 
pushed with vigor and rapidit}^ Over a carload of disinfectants 
was taken from the wharves to-day and sent to the heath depart- 
ment supply depot, and almost as much was taken from that place 
and distributed over the city. Much was done in the way of 
removing debris and disposing of animal carcasses. The sick and 
wounded are receiving the best of treatment. Besides the other' 
hospitals and medical relief station already in service, the marine 
hospital and refuge camp was opened this afternoon and willj 
accommodate a large number of patients. The outlook from a 
health standpoint is very encouraging. 

" Three pile drivers are at work closing up the breach in the\ 
Galveston Bay bridge made b}^ the steamship Roma. The rebuild- 
incr of the bridge is progressing rapidly. A message from General 



HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 331 

Superintendent Nixon, of the Santa Fe Railroad, to General 
Manager Polk this evening, said trains will be able to cross on 
Thursday. Orders have been issued to allow freight to proceed to 
Galveston. The tracks on Galveston Island will be completed to 
the bridge to-morrow noon. Engines are again running into the 
Union Depot, and are bringing freight to the ships in port. 

"The water works system is being gradually restored and the 
mains are now supplying the various hospitals. Miss Clara 
Barton, of Red Cross Society, has opened a depot for supplies. 
She has sent orders for medicine and surgical dressings, food for 
the sick and clothing and shoes. 

WANTS A BREAKWATER. 

'* Congressman Hawley advocates the building of a break- 
water, beginning at the south jetty and extending westward, 
parallelling the shore of Galveston Island for a distance of about 
seven miles. With a base of twenty-five feet and crown of eight 
feet, capped with heavy granite blocks, he believes this would 
break the force of a tidal wave and adequately protect Galveston. 

" The people are still leaving the city in considerable numbers, 
but the relief work locally has now been gotten down to such a fine 
point that it is likely there will be a marked diminution of the 
exodus during the next two or three days. Fears of an epidemic 
have been allayed by the distribution of medicines and disinfect- 
ants, and a feature which would undoubtedl}^ have had the effect of 
causing many to seek succor elsewhere has been eliminated from 
the situation. 

" Supplies and money are now pouring in from all over the 
country, and at least seven figures are needed to express the 
amount of cash so far received. This is being used judiciously, 
and the good effects of the presence of such a relief fund in the , 
city are already apparent. An order of the military government 
directed against idle negro women went into operation to-day. It 
has been decided by the Central Relief Committee to establish a 
camp in which these women will be held and kept off the streets 
and out of the way of those who are burying the dead." 



332 HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 

To put Galveston on her feet will require $5,000,000. Such 
is the opinion of Congressman Hawley, one of the representative 
business men. This does not mean that the sum mentioned will 
come anywhere near restoring the city to the condition before the 
storm. Far from it. 

Mr. Hawley was simply asked: " What measure of relief will 
burn your dead, clean and purify your streets and public places, 
feed and clothe the living and place your people where they can 
be self-sustaining and in a way to regain what has been lost?" 

His reply was : " It will take $5,000,000 to relieve Galveston 
from the distress of the storm. At least that sum will be needed 
to dispose of the dead, to remove the ruins and to do what is right 
for the living. 

SOME MEANS TO HELP PEOPLE. 

*'I think that we should not only feed and clothe, but that we 
ought to have some means to help people who have lost everything 
to make a start toward the restoration of their homes. To do this 
wall require every dollar of $5,000,000." 

There are now on the scene more nurses and ph37'sicians than 
are required. The injured are rapidly recovering from, their 
wounds, which are largely superficial. Many men and women are 
suffering from severe nervous shock, and find it impossible to 
sleep. Food is coming in by the boatload and carload faster 
than it can be handled, in such generous quantities that no further 
doubts are entertained about supplies. Relief headquarters in each 
of the twelve wards deal out supplies to applicants in their re- 
spective wards. 

Estimates of the numbers dependent upon the relief commit- 
tees vary. Mayor Jones makes it about 8000, while other authori- 
ties put the number as high as 15,000. In the business centre the 
streets have been cleaned and opened. All buildings still show 
marks of wind and water, but goods are displayed and business is 
being transacted. The city is graduall}^ assuming its bustling 
ante-flood appearance. Stenches no longer assail the nostrils, ex- 
cept where much debris still remains untouched. 



HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 333 

Cremation of the dead is being pushed, but it will be many 
Jays before the working parties get out the last of the bodies. The 
whole twenty-two miles of the island was submerged. The liorrors 
of the western portion be3^ond the city limits are j ust being learned. 
At San Luis i8i bodies were burned to-day. Between twenty and 
thirty bodies were counted among the piles of th' railroad bridge 
between the island and Virginia Point. In Kinkead's addition 
about lOO were lost, eighteen in one house. There were also losses 
at Nottingham, one of the Galveston island villages, where noth- 
ing but wreckage remains. 

One hundred bodies were buried in Galveston on Sunday. The 
further the men work in the Denver reservoir section the more 
numerous do they find the dead. Fires are burning every 300 feet 
on the beach and along many of the streets. Mayor Walter C. 
Jones to-day, in response to a request, made a statement of condi- 
tions and needs of Galveston people, basing his conclusions on the 
most current information which has come to him. Mayor Jones' 
statement is as follows : 

"WE ARE BROKE." 

" It is almost impossible to speak definitely as yet of the needs 
of our people. We are broke, the majority of us. Galveston must 
have suffered, in my estimation, based upon all of the reports I 
have to the extent of $20,000,000. We now need money more than 
anything. From the advices I have received I believe that the ship- 
ments of disinfectant and food supplies now on the way will be 
sufficient to meet the immediate wants. By the time these are used 
we shall have regained our tranquility." 

This is the ninth day after the storm and still the grewsome 
works goes on of recovering the dead from the gigantic mass of. 
debris that lines the southside of what remains of the city. Among 
the scores of bodies recovered and cremated yesterday was a mother 
with a suckling babe tightly clasped to her breast. 

The body of Major W. T. Levy United States Immigrant 
Inspector of this district, was among the number. He had made 
a struggle to save liis wife and three children but all were lost. 



334 HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 

The bodies of the wife and children have not been recovered, or if 
so they are still among the nninterred dead. 

The task of recovering the bodies that are beneath or jammed 
into this immense rick of debris, extending from the eastern to the 
western limits of the city, a distance of over three miles, is a 
hercnlean one, and the most expenditions way of removing the 
whole from a sanitary point of view, is by fire. This, however, in 
the crippled condition of the fire department and water works, 
would endanger the remaing portion of the city. As it now stands 
this immense mass of debris, strewn with dead bodies, the carcasses 
of decaying animals, etc., is a sore menance to the health of the 
city and is the most difi&cnlt problem the Board of Health has to 
deal with. 

OPENING UP THE STREETS. 

The work of opening up the streets and disinfecting them is 
being vigorously prosecuted. The debris and garbage is being 
removed, 250 vessels of every description carrying it out to a safe 
place, where it is burned. In a few days all streets will be opened 
for the passage of vehicles. It was decided at a meeting of the 
Central Executive Commiltee that all the laborers employed in 
burying the dead, cleaning the buildings and moving the debris 
from the streets and sidewalks shall receive $1.50 per day and 
rations. Heretofore they have been working for nothing, and if 
they refused were impressed by the military. 

The work of relief of the sick and injured is well in hand 
and under the direction of skilled physicians and nurses it is im- 
proved daily. Eleven hundred tents were received by the Board 
of Health. All except 300, retained for hospital purposes, will be 
distributed by the chairmen of various ward sub-committees to / 
^shelter the homeless in their respective wards. 

Houston, Tex., September 17. — The day after the report of the 
storm at Galveston had been published to the world the Houston 
representative of a Northern journal received this "rush" tele- 
gram : " Get photographs of Galveston storm scenes, no matter 
what the expense ; rush them through." 



HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 335 

At that time no one had gone from the outside to Ga.lvc.s'Loii, 
not even newspaper men. Galveston was practical!}' cut ojff from 
the outside world. The scores of people hurrying to Houston with 
the desire of getting to Galveston by the railroad and boats plying 
between there and that city could not make the trip. 

The representative endeavored to charter a tug to send a 
photographer and some newspaper men through, but the captain 
refused to go. 

CAPTAIN WOULD NOT RISK THE TRIP. 

'' I will sell 3^ou my boat," he said, " but neither myself nor 
my men will risk the trip." 

By putting several thousand men at work all day Monda}^ and 
Monda}' night one railroad line was put in condition for a train to 
go from Houston to Texas Cit}^ six miles from Galveston, the 
island being across the ba^^ 

This, the first train out of Houston, was to leave earl}^ Tues- 
day morning. The news of its intended departure spread to all 
parts of the countr}^. Hundreds of grief-stricken, bewildered peo- 
ple, nearly crazed with anxiety for relatives in the storm-swept 
country, sta3^ed up all night, with the hope of getting into Galves- 
ton. The railroad men let all that thej^ could possibly stow away 
in the coaches get on board, telling them in advance, however, that 
no one would be able to get from Texas City to Galveston. 

Arriving there with the train wus the special photographer of 
the newspaper with his camera. When this crowd of men and 
women reached Texas City they found no means of riding further. 
The only possible way to make the perilous trip was to walk 
to Virginia Point, two miles away, and this was across the marsh 
tiled with debris and bodies from the Galveston wreck. The pho- 
ftographer and the ten other men attempted the task. They were 
nearly exhausted when the two miles were finislied. They had 
taken off their shoes and walked up to their waists in wat^r. Their 
feet were bruised. The photographer carefully kept his camera 
from coming in contact with the water, however, and got several 
graphic views when he reached the place. 



336 HxWOC M/VDE BY THE A?^GRY STORM. 

The ten men fonnd a skiff that was thrown up the bay by the 
rush of water on that fateful Saturday night. They dragged it 
for many weary yards, finally getting it into the water, and man- 
aged to row to Huntington Wharf, Galve'ston, a distance of two 
miles. Worn out as they were, they walked to the city, the man 
with the camera being the first photographer in from the outside. 

His troubles were not over, though. There were hundreds of 
terrible scenes to photograph ; at every turn there was a graphic 
picture; but the people of Galveston, crazed with grief as they 
were, seemed to think it a desecration that he was there, and that' 
views of their wrecked town and their dead should be thus recorded 
by the camera. They muttered and they threatened. 

The photographer moved from one place to another. He hid 
himself and only took a snapshot when he knew he was safe from 
the scrutiny of the men and women who thought his work was a 
mockery of their grief. To show the real mind of the people it 
will onh^ be necessary to state that many newspaper men who have 
visited all parts of the world as special correspondents, who have 
had ingress to courts and Parliament, who have traveled every- 
where there has been news to find, found it impossible to get into 
Galveston. 

GETTING OUT OF GALVESTON. 

Getting out of Galveston, however, is comparatively easy. It 
was Wednesday morning when the photographer finally reached 
Houston, exhausted and nervous to a degree that made working a 
torture. He managed to develop his pictures, and that evening 
that man rushed forward the first photographs of actual storm 
scenes to leave the city. 

One hundred and thirty bodies of storm victims were recov- 
ered and cremated to-day (September 17), nine days after the hur- 
ricane, and still there are hundreds more to be found. They lie 
for the most part under the twisted heaps of debris that line the 
city for miles along its southern side. 

The problem of clearing awa}^ the wreckage in this part of 
the city, where it is thickest, is still a very troublesome one despite 



HAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 337 

all the work tliat has been done. The quickest and best way 
would doubtless be by fire, but the very mention of fire has a 
terror for Galvestonians uow. The city is practically without pro- 
tection from fire, and if the flames once get a good start, a holo- 
caust might be the result, which would be only second in horror 
to the hurricane. 

The problem is all the more serious because the danger of an 
epidemic caused by the many dead bodies of men and animals is 
still great. Sickness of a malarial type is already prevalent. The 
debris and garbage is being removed with the aid of 250 wagons 
to places where it can safely be burned, but that is a very slow 
process. Men are still being impressed for the work under the 
oversight of the soldiers, but hereafter all the laborers will be paid 
$1.50 a day out of the relief funds. 

ABOUT 17,000 PEOPLE RECEIVING RELIEF. 

Health Officer Wilkinson stated that 40 per cent, of the debris 
of ever}^ description had been removed from the streets ; that 95 
per cent, of the dead bodies had been disposed of, and that 95 per 
cent, of the carcasses of animals had been removed from the city. 

Among the bodies found was that of Major W. T. Lev}^, 
United States emigrant inspector for Galveston. His wife and 
three children perished, but their bodies have not been recovered, 
[n one place the body of a mother was found v/ith a babe of a few 
months tightly clasped to her breast. 

About 17,000 people are now receiving relief each day, and 
the supplies are sufficient for their immediate wants. This morn- 
ing the first supplies brought by the Chicago relief train arrived 
here by way of Clinton. The train reached Houston at midnight 
Saturday, having made a run of 270 miles from Fort Worth at at 
average speed of thirty-seven miles an hour. Owing to a changc> 
in its schedule the people who had been watching for its arrival 
failed to see it, and it was rushed over the Southern Pacific Road 
to Clinton, where barges were waiting for the supplies. 

The Chicago train was the largest that has yet been sent to 
Calveston, and many expressions of gratitude to Chicago are heard 
22 



33b liAVOC MADE BY THE ANGRY STORM. 

here. Mayor Jones, for instance, said to-day : " Chicago people are 
the best kind of friends to have when one is in trouble. We can- 
not express our thanks to them. We will show by our future 
what their help has meant to us. Like Chicago we will rise above 
ull disaster and rebuild our city better than it has ever been before." 

Eleven hundred tents were received to-day by the Board of 
Health. All except 300, M^hich were retained for the marine hos- 
pital on the beach, have been distributed to the homeless in the 
different wards. 

Miss Clara Barton is' giving her time and attention to assist- 
ing in the work of relief and ascertaining what supplies are neces 
sary to meet the exigencies of the situation. 

NUMEROUS CASES OF INSANITY. 

The city takes on more of the appearance of a business place 
each day. To-day horse cars are running downtown, while there is 
both water and electric service in limited portions of the cit^^ 
Telephone communication has been opened with Houston, and both 
of the telegraph companies have greatly improved their service. 
All the railroad companies announce they will have trains into the 
city inside of three days, although at first only trains with con- 
struction material may risk the trip across the repaired bridge. 
The Santa Fe Road expects its first train on Thursday. 

A systematic effort was begun this morning to obtain the 
names of the dead, so that the information can be used for legal 
purposes and for life insurance settlements. Sworn statements 
from witnesses of death are being recorded, and communication 
with people with information who have left the cit}?^ is being 
opened. 

There are numerous cases of insanity in Galveston as a result 
of the terrible bereavements sustained by the survi^'ors. Judge 
John J. Reagan, a prominent lawyer, is at the Mas- ic relief sta- 
tion in a pitable condition. Judge Reagan lost every relative he 
had in Galveston. He sits hour by hour in pathetic silence. Then 
he bursts out laughing", and his laughter is followed by tears. . 

There are now about 200 soldiers in Galveston doing police 



HAVOC MADE P.V THE ANGRY STORM. 339 

dut}^ aud more have been called for. The Dallas Rougli Riders, 
the Houston Liglit Guards, the Galveston Sharpshooters, Battery 
D, of Houston and Cavalry Troop A, Houston, are the commands. 

The affiliated labor organization of this city, over 500 of its 
members having lost everything, has issued an address appealing 
to every labor organization throughout the country for assistance. 
It has appointed T. W. Dee and James F. Grimes as agents to 
visit all large cities in behalf of aid for their stricken members. 
Dee and Grimes have also received credentials from Mayor Jones, 
and they left to-night on their mission. 

Not a day goes by but new stories of almost miraculous 
escapes aud of prolonged suffering are told here. The conditions 
of the hurricane were such that it was luck alone that permitted 
men to escape death. 

FSCAPE OF REV. L. P. DAVIS AND FAMILY. 

The escape of Rev. L. P. Davis, his wife and his five young 
children on Boliver Peninsula and their seven days of suffering 
before thc}^ reached here is of a kind rarel}^ to be equaled in the 
annals of disasters. This has already been detailed in these 
pages. Mr. Davis started to drive his family away from his home 
at Patton Beach when the water began to rise high. He saw a 
neighbor's family washed out of their wagon and rescued them. 

The party made their wa}^ to a grove, where the adults tied 
the children and themselves in tlie branches of trees. The}^ spent 
a fearful night. On Sunday, when the waters went down, they 
made their way past many corpses till the}^ found a farmhouse not 
entirely destroyed. There they got a little food and then set out 
on foot, living on the raw flesh of a steer till they found an over- 
turned sailboat and managed to reach Galveston. From here they 
went to Houston, where they will be cared for. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Governor Sayres Revises His Estimate of Those Lost and 

Makes it 12,000 — A Multitude of the Destitute — 

Abundant SuppHes and Vast Work 

of Distribution. 

GOVERNOR SAYRES issued a statement September i9tli, 
in which he said in part : "The loss of life occasioned by 
the storm in Galveston and elsewhere on the southern coast 
cannot be less than 12,000 lives, while the loss of propert}^ will 
probably aggregate $20,000,000. Notwithstanding this severe 
affliction, I have every confidence that the stricken districts will 
rapidly revive, and that Galveston will, from her present desola- 
tion and sorrow, arise with renewed strength and vigor." 

Speaking further of the situation at Galveston, the Governor 
said : "I look for the rebuilding of Galveston to be well under 
way by the latter part of this week. The work of cleaning the 
city of unhealthful refuse and burying the dead will have been 
completed by that time, and all the available labor in the cit}^ can 
be applied to the rebuilding. 

" If the laboring people of Galveston will only get to work in 
earnest, prosperity will soon again smile on the city. Arrange- 
ments have been made to pay all the laborers working under the 
direction of the militar}^ authorities $1.50 and rations for every 
day they have worked or will work. An account has been kept 
of all work done, and no laborer will lose one day's pay, 

"The money and food contributions coming from a generous 
people have been a great help to the people of Galveston, as it 
has relieved them of the necessity of spending their money to 
support the need}^, and it can now be applied to the improvement 
of their own property and putting again on foot their business 
enterprises. 

" Five dollars a day is being offered to the mechanics who 
will come to Galveston, and with the assurance from reputable 
340 



GOVERNOR REPORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. 84 1 

physicians that there is no extraordinary danger of sickness, 
outside laborers will flock to Galveston, and before many days a 
new city will rise on the storm-swept island. 

"The telegraph and telephone companies and railroads have 
been exceedingly generous since the great calamity. They have 
not only given money, but everything has been transported to 
that city free of charge, while those desiring to get away from the 
•harrowing scenes of Galveston have been transported free. The 
people of Texas will long remember with grateful hearts the 
kindness of these companies. It is now an assured fact that trains 
will be running into Galveston this week, and, with uninterrupted 
communication with the outside world, Galveston should soon 
assume her normal condition." 

DISTRIBUTING $40,000 A DAY. 

Twenty thousand people are being fed and cared for daily in 
Galveston with the supplies which are pouring in from all parts 
of the country. This will be cut at least one-half in ten days, is 
the statement of W. A. McVitie, chairman of the central relief 
committee. 

The estimated cost of the aid which is now being extended is 
$40,000 a day. The great bulk of the aid is going to the 4,000 
men who are at work cleaning up the wreckage, digging for bodies 
and cleaning the streets. Through them it goes to their families. 
No able-bodied laboring man is allowed to escape the work, 
whether he needs aid or not, though most of them do. The busi- 
ness men who are in position to resume are allowed to attend to 
their stores, and their clerical forces are not interfered with. 

The debris-hunting and street-cleaning work will be put upon 
a cash basis, the wages being $1.50. Time has been kept from 
the beginning, though the records are not complete, and it is the 
expectation, if the nione}- which comes in from outside is 
adequate, that the men will be paid for the full time thc}^ have 
worked. This will apply to those who had to be made to work at 
the point of the bayonet, as well as those who volunteered their 
services. This will not be given in cash, but in the form of orders 



342 GOVERNOR RErORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. 

for tools for meclianics, lumber for those wlio have homes they 
wish to repair, etc. 

Heretofore practically every able-bodied man has been made 
to work, and unless he worked he got no supplies. The first few 
days' wages consisted entirely of rations, which were given accord- 
ing to the number and needs of the laborer's family, regardless 
of the amount of work he accomplished. Since other supplies 
have begun coming in they have been added. 

The work of distribution is being conducted systematicalh^ 
and with an apparent minimum of imposition and fraud. There is a 
central committee, of which W. A McVitie, a prominent business 
man, is chairman. Then there is a committee for each one of the 
twelve wards. As fast as goods or provisions arrive from the 
mainland they are placed in the central warehouse, from there 
the different ward chairmen requisition them, and they are taken 
to supply depots in the different wards. All day long there is a 
motlc}^ crowd around every one of these depots, negroes predom- 
inating at least two to one. Every applicant passes in review 
before the ward chairman. 

ONLY THE DESTITUTE HELPED. 

" Ah want a dress foh ma sistah, " says a big negress. 

"You're 'Manda Jones, and you haven't any sister living 
here," replied the chairman. 

"Foh de Lord, ah has; ah ain't 'Mandy Jones at all; we 
done live on Avenue N before de storm, and we los' everything." 

"Go out with this woman and find out if she has a sister who 
needs a dress," saj^s the chairman to a committeeman. In this 
way check is kept on all the applicants for aid. 

At the 5th ward distributing station clothing was being given 
away this evening. A negro woman, who had been refused a 
supply, went outside and by way of revenge^pointed out different 
ones of her friends and neighbors whom she alleged were sim- 
ilarly unentitled. 

" Dat woman done los' not-hin' at all, "she shrieked. "Ah 
did not los' nuthin' mahself and doan wan' nuthin." 



GOVERNOR RETORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. d-la 

"What's the trouble?" asked a bystander. An old negrcss 
who was lined up waiting her turn, replied: "Oli, she's mad 
'cause de white folks won't give her nuthin." So far no woman 
has been required to work, but a strong feeling is developing to 
compel negro women to work cleaning up the houses. There are 
plenty of people who are willing to hire them, but as long as fre 
food and clothing can be secured it is hard to get colored women" 
to go in and clean up the partially ruined homes. 

" Our supply of foodstuffs is adequate," said Chairman 
McVitie, " but just now we are a little short of clothing. This, 
however, may not be true to-morrow. We have no idea of the 
contents of the cars on the road to us. Frequently we don't knoAV 
anything is coming until the cars reach Texas City. With the 
money which has been coming in we have been augmenting our 
supplies by purchasing of local merchants in lines where there 
was a shortage. 

SAYS MONEY IS MOST NEEDED. 

" What do we need worst ? Money. If we have money we 
can order just what we need and probably get better value than 
the people who are buying it. Many people have made the mis- 
take of sending money to Houston and Dallas and asking com- 
mittees there to buy for us. They do not know just what we 
need, and if we had the money we could do better for ourselves. 
Money should be sent to us." 

One of the most remarkable things attending the Galveston 
disaster is the fortitude of the people. Their loss in relatives, 
friends and property has been so overwhelming that it seems too 
much to be expressed with outward grief. 

Two men who had not seen each other since the disaster met 
in the street. " How many did you lose ?" they asked b}^ common 
impulse. 

" I lost all my property, but my wife and I came through all 
right." 

" I was not so fortunate. My wife and my little boy were 
both drowned." 



344 GOVERNOR REPORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. 

There was an expression of S3^nLpatliy from the other, but 
nothing approaching a tear from either. 

"They are making good progress cleaning up," remarked the 
one whose losses were heaviest, with a pleasant smile. The other 
one makes light answer and they pass on. 

The people of Galveston have seen so much death that they 
are temporarily hardened to it. The announcement of the loss 
of another friend means little to a man who has seen the dead 
bodies of neighbors and townspeople hauled to the wharf by the 
drayload. 

No services have been attempted for the dead. Neither has 
there been memorial services. The Rev. J. M. K. Kerwin, priest 
in charge of St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral, said : " It was 
impossible. Priest and layman had to join in the work of clean- 
ing the city of dead bodies. I don't expect there wi^l be memorial 
services for a month." 

STOOD THE STORM WELL. 

Father Kerwin' s church is among the few which are compar- 
atively little damaged. He sets the value of Catholic property 
destroyed in the city at $300,000. Included in this loss is the 
Ursula convent and academy, which was badly damaged. It cov- 
ered four blocks between Twenty-fifth and Twenty-seventh streets 
and Avenues N and O. It was the finest in the South. 

The city is rapidly improving in its sanitary conditions. The 
smell from the ooze and mud with which most of the streets are 
filled is stronger than that which comes from the debris heaps 
containing undiscovered bodies. When these heaps are being 
burned and the wind carries the smoke over the city, the odor is 
very similar to that which afflicts Chicago at night when refuse 
is being burned at the stockyards, and no worse. Soon even the 
odor of the slime will be gone. Every dumpcart in the city is at 
work. 

Every Galveston business man talks confidently of the future 
of the city, though many of the clerks announce their intention 
of going away as soon as they can accumulate money enough. 



GOVKKNOR Kl'l'ORTS TWELVE TlrOUSAND DEAD. 345 

"I'm not afraid of another storm," said a clerk in one of the prin- 
cipal stores. " But I'm sick and tired of the whole business." 

The Southwestern Telephone and Telegraph Company, which 
is a branch of the Erie system, will rebuild its telephone system 
jiere. "This will take us three months, and in the meantime we 
will give no service save long-distance," said D. McReynolds, 
superintendent of construction. " We will install a central emer- 
gency system the same as that in Chicago and put all wires under 
ground. We will employ five hundred men if necessary to do the 
work in ninety days. The company's losses in Texas are $300,000 
— $200,000 here, $60,000 at Houston and the rest at other points." 

Residents here are greatl}^ pleased at this announcement, as it 
shows the confidence of a foreign company in the future of 
Galveston. 

ONLY ONE WHO ESCAPED. 

Cooped up in a house that collapsed after being carried along 
by a deluge of water, John Elford, brother of A. B. Hlford, Chi- 
cago, his wife and little grandson, met death in the flood during 
the Galveston storm. Milton, son of John Elford, was in the 
building with the family at the time, and is the only one of the 
many occupants, including fifteen women, that is known to have 
escaped. 

A. B. Elford was dumbfounded when he received the first infor- 
mation of the disaster, for he had no idea of his brother being in 
Texas. John Elford was a retired farmer and merchant of Lang 
don, N. D. He recently had taken his family on a trip to old and 
New Mexico. Mr. Elford yesterday received the following letter 
from Langdon, N. D. : 

" We have just received a letter from Milton. Father, mother, 
Dwight and Milton went to Galveston from Mineral Springs, 
Texas, where they had previously been stopping. Th^y were so 
delighted with Galveston on reaching there that they .'old their 
return tickets and decided to remain about two months. They 
were at first in a house near the beach, but moved farther away 
and to a larger and stronger house when the water began to rise. 

"All at once the water came down the street, bringing houses 



346 GOVERNOR REPORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. 

and debris. They started to build a raft, but before it could be 
got together the house started to float. It had gone but a short 
distance when it went to pieces. Milton was struck with some- 
thing and knocked out into the water. He came ''ip, caught a tim- 
ber and climbed to a roof, and thus managed to make his escape. 

" He saw no one escape from the building as it collapsed. We 
do not believe the bodies have yet been recovered. We have wired 
for more definite news regarding the bodies, but have heard 
nothing more. EDGAR ELFORD. " 

William Guest, a Pullman car porter, returned to Chicago 
from the storm-stricken district. He said : 

'* I left Harrisburg night before last, and things then in the 
neighborhood were in a dreadful state. Galveston is about twenty 
miles distant, and the refugees were pouring in the direction of 
Houston in great numbers. Many well-to-do colored people have 
lost all they had. The Rev. W. H. Cain, a colored Episcopal 
minister and his entire family were killed, and it was reported to 
me that Mrs. Cuney, the widow of Wright Cuney, was also lost, 
as well as a number of colored teachers employed in the public 
schools. At Houston relief committees have been organized. " 

The Rev. Mr. Cain was well known in Chicago, having 
preached several times from the pulpit of the St. Thomas Epis- 
copal church in Dearborn near 30th street. 

The Ouinn chapel congregation decided at a meeting that 
the church at 24th street and Wabash avenue should be opened 
in order that contributions of clothing and food for the sufferers 
might be received. 

KAISER MOURNS FOR GALVESTON. 

Washington, D. C, Sept 17. — President McKinley has 
received the following message of sympathy from Emperor 
William of Germany : 

" Stettin, Sept. 13, 1900. — President of the United States oi 
America, Washington : I wish to convey to your excellenc}^ the 
expression of my deep-felt sympathy with the misfortune that 
has ' befallen the town and harbor of Galveston and 



GOVERNOR RE-PORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. 317 

many other ports of the coast, and I mourn with 3^011 and 
the people of the United States over the terrible loss of life and 
property caused by the hurricane, but the magnitude of the dis- 
aster is equaled by the indomitable spirit of the citizens of the 
new world, who, in their long and continued struggle with 
the adverse forces of nature have proved themselves to be 
victorious. 

" I sincerely hope that Galveston will rise again to new 
prosperity. william, i. r." 

PRESIDENT THANKS THE KAISER. 

The President's reply was as follows : 

"Executive Mansion, Sept. 14, 1900, — His Imperial and 
Royal Majesty, William II., Stettin, Germany : Your majesty's 
message of condolence and sympathy is very grateful to the 
American government and people, and in their name as well as 
on behalf of the many thousands who have suffered bereavement 
and irreparable loss in the Galveston disaster, I thank you most 
earnestly. ''william mckinlev." 

W. B. McGown, a member of the Dallas Rough Riders, 
to-day arrived at Dallas from Galveston on sick leave. He denies 
the reports that have been current in Dallas and other Texas 
cities of trouble with soldiery at Galveston or of any misconduct 
on the part of the militia. Mr. McGown says more and fresh 
troops are needed at Galveston. One-half of the Houston Light 
Guard have had to be relieved and placed on sick leave. A num- 
ber have died from malarial fever contracted at Galveston. 

The Houston Cavalry, the Navasota Infantry, the Trezevant 
Rifles, of Dallas, and the Rough Riders were the only troops on 
duty last night, and a considerable part of these companies were 
unfit for duty. Two infantry companies from Fort Worth, Cla- 
burn, and the Dallas Artillery were expected to-day. 

There were twenty-five fires kept burning to consume dead 
bodies in the debris in a stretch of three miles. McGown says 
information was received at the Dallas headquarters of the Gulf, 
Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad that construction traJu.^^ wiih 



348 GOVERNOR REPORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. 

materials had already crossed tlie bay from the mainland to Gal- 
veston Island. Local Santa Fe officials saysupiDlies and bnilding 
materials will be rushed to the island rapidly from now on. Gal- 
veston now has railroad, telegraph and telephone connection with 
the outside world. 

A special correspondent writing from Galveston on Septem- 
ber 19th, said: 

"The most serious problem which now confronts those in 
authority here is the disposition of the dead and the removal of 
wreckage. This matter is being attended to by a large force 
scattered through the city, but the number is inadequate to meet 
the requirements. 

EXHAUSTION THINS OUT THE WORKERS. 

"At a meeting of the Auxiliary Health Board to-day a com- 
mittee was appointed to suggest to Adjutant General Scurr}^, in 
charge of city forces, and the General Relief Committee, the 
advisability of having the work done by contract and importing 
men to do it. Reports from various wards where men have been 
engaged in this work show a decrease in numerical strength, due 
to exhaustion and other causes. In some instances men who are 
skilled mechanics and have assisted in the disposition of the dead 
have obtained employment at their regular trades. 

" It was announced this evening that a contract will be let 
for the removal of bodies and the huge mass of debris, which, in 
some parts of the cit}--, reaches a height of fifteen feet. To do this, 
about three thousand men will be brought here from the interior. 
They will come with their own cooks and rations and camp on 
the beach, and M'ill be paid $2 a day. It is estimated that it will 
require from twenty to thirty days to remove the wreckage. 

"Under one pile of debris to-day thirty bodies were found 
and cremated. Bodies are still being washed ashore at Texas 
City, Bolivar Point, Pelican Island and other coast points near 
Galveston. There is no time to dig graves, and the bodies are 
hastily consigned to the flames. 

" The city is still under martial law, and guards are patrol- 



GOVERNOR REi'ORTS TWELVE THOUSAxND DEAD. ;Mi) 

Hug the streets day and night. An example was made t'f a man 
arrested for selling liquor. The oiFeuder was marched to general 
headquarters, and, after a severe reprimand, was put to work on 
the street gang, removing and disposing of bodies. He will serve 
without pay for an indefinite period. 

" All- hospital relief stations and all points in the city are 
thoroughl}'' disinfected. Dr. Peckham, of the United States 
Marine Corps, has established a camp for the injured and ill at 
Tremont and Beach avenues. Directly opposite is a camp for 
refugees. Camps will be established on the beach at the foot of 
Fifteenth street. 

"Reports from Sealy Hospital, St. Mary's Infirmary and 
other temporary hospitals are that sanitary rules are strictly fol- 
lowed, and the buildings are in fairly good shape. A great many 
patients from vSealy and St. Mary's have been sent to Houston. 

SERIOUS CASES OF INJURY. 

"In the vicinit}'- of the hospitals there is a mass of debris 
containing many bodies, and the Health Board has sent an urgent 
appeal to headquarters to have this debris cleared. 

" Emergency hospitals report wounds dressed on an average 
of 150 to 200 a day. Many report serious cases. 

" A census has been taken of St. Mary's Catholic parish, 
embracing the territory from Sixteenth to Twenty-seventh street. 
It shows a loss of 267 from this parish alone. A census of the 
city is now being taken, which will embrace a list of the sur- 
vivors, the dead and the amount of personal and propert}^ losses. 

" Death from a broken heart was the doctor's verdict when 
Miss Clara Olson died at an early hour this morning. When the 
storm was at its height the little house Miss Olson occupied with 
her aged mother collapsed. Mother and daughter found refuge 
on a floating housetop for several hours. A floating timber driven 
with terrible force crushed Mrs. Olson's skull. The girl drifted 
to the Ursuline convent, where she was cared for by the Sisters. 
She grieved constantly for her mother, and at last died of a broken 
h^art" 



.'550 GOVERNOR REPORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. 

Houstou, Tex., Sept. 20. — Official reports of conditions of 
interior towns liave begun to conie in from agents sent ont b}- 
Governor Sayres. Following are summaries of reports so far 
received showing the conditions of half a dozen towns on the Santa 
Fe. There are probably fifty small towns, which are in just as 
bad shape and from which reports have not been received, but 
which are being supplied with provisions, clothing, and drugs from 
Houston by the committees : 

Pearland — Fifty families depending on Relief Committee ; 
some supplies received but assistance in other ways than provi- 
sions needed. Families at Erin and Superior are to be supplied 
through Pearland. 

Algoa — Twenty-five families to be supplied ; enough provi- 
sions for the present. 

DESTRUCTION IN OUTLYING DISTRICTS. 

Alvin — In the town of Alvin and vicinit}^ there are probably 
six houses on blocks out of a total of 1,000. The population of 
Alvin now to be fed is about 1,500 ; Manvel, 250 ; Liverpool and 
Amsterdam, 250 ; Chocolate and Austin Baj^ous, Chigger neigh- 
borhood, Dickinson Bayou, east and outside, or the surrounding 
country, 2,500, making a tolal of 5,000 persons under the super- 
vision of the Alvin committee. The committee admits having a 
sufficient amount of clothing. The}^ have received a cash sub- 
scription of about $2,000 and have spent $400. Have received two 
cars of flour from Dallas, one car of meal from Dallas, one car of 
mixed goods from T3der. Along the bay shore, from Virginia 
Point to Liverpool, for a space of six or eight miles from the ba^'- 
front, there are mau}^ thousands of dead cattle that should be 
"nimediately cremated or properly looked after. 

Arcadia — In the town there are 300 destitute, and those in 
tiie immediate vicinity will make the aggregate 500. Provisions 
already supplied sufficient for immediate needs onl3^ 

Hitchcock — In this town and immediate vicinity are more 
than 500 destitute. Of about 300 houses, only about ten are 
staudiug. A wave of salt water, from four to ten feet in depth, 



GOVERNOR REPORTS T\VEL\E TllOUSANI) DEAD. 351 

covered this section ; tliirty-eiglit lives were lost, and, for the 
time being, it is feared that the soil has been seriously damaged 
by the effect of salt water. Supplies of provisions were sent 
yesterda\^ There are probably 10,000 dead cattle within a space 
of a few miles south and surrounding the town, and every house 
should be supplied for at least ten days with disinfectants. 
Fever is now settling in there, and Dr. J. T. Scott, of Houston, 
Vv'ent there yesterday. An idea of the velocity of ihe wind and 
wave of salt water that swept over this immediate section may be 
imagined Mdien it is known that the Texas City dredge hoai is 
now Ij'ing high and dr}'- in a garden at this place, a distance ol 
eight miles or more from its moorings. 

HOUSES AND OTHER PROPERTY GONE 

Alta Loma — This committee reports about seventy- five fami- 
lies, or 300 persons, to be cared for. Have received 5^,0 rations 
People have no money and their property destroyed. In the 
neighborhood of 100 houses existed ; forty destroyed aud about 
twent}' untenantable. There are about four houses now on 
blocks. Two lives were lost. The population is mainly ol 
northern people. A shipment was made them of provisions and 
medicines, but other things are needed at once. 

Col. B. H. Belo, publisher of the " Galveston News," said 
that Galveston would be rebuilt at once. 

"The storm and flood taught us several lessons," said Col 
Belo, in an interview. "The loss of life would have been com 
parativel)^ light if the buildings had been of a more solid char 
acter. The Ursuline convent, for instance, was surrounded b^' a 
brick wall, and there was no loss of life there, although it stood 
right in the path of the flood and storm. There were no lives 
lv>st in the 'News' of&ce, and we would not have been badly 
flooded had it not been for a building falling and battering in a 
part of our wall. 

" I believe that all buildings will be of a more solid and 
enduring character than formerly. I think, too, that the streets 
■^long the water front will ]>e built higher than they were. The 



662 GOVKRNOR REPORTS TWKIA'K THOUSAND DEAD. 

City must be rebuilt. It is tbe only outlet wortli}^ the name on 
tbe Gulf west of New Orleans. The goven-'ment spent $6,000,000 
to make a thirty-foot harbor there, and the shipping is so exten- 
sive that rebuilding the wrecked portions of the city is impera- 
tive." 

A tale of self sacrifice co\nes from the western part of the city. 
A young man by the name of Wash Masterson heard the cries of 
some people outside. They were calling for a rope. He had no 
rope, but improvised one from bed sheets, and started out to find , 
the people who were calling. The wind and water soon tore his* 
rope to shreds and he had to return to the house, where he made 
another and stronger rope. 

THE CRIES OF THE PEOPLE. 

The cries of the people still filled his ears. He went out a 
second time and after being gone for what seemed an hour or more 
to those who were waiting he returned with the people. They had 
clung to the branches of a salt cedar tree. Mr. Masterson was not 
satisfied with that, but went out for other people immediatel}^, 
the water having begun to fall about that time, and worked all 
night. 

A little black dog stood barking over a sand hill in the west 
end beyond Woollam's lake. Those who endeavored to stop his 
barking by driving him away did not succeed for he returned as 
soon as they ceased their attempts. It was suggested that he was 
guarding a bod}'', but others scouted the idea. 

Finally they dug beneath the spot where the dog stood, and 
there they found the remains of a young girl whom they identi- 
fied by the rings she wore as Miss Lena Kverhart, a popular little 
lady, well known both in Galveston and Dallas. This whole 
family, with the exception of one son, Elmer Everhart, and a' 
daughter, Mrs. Robert Brown, who lives near Dickinson and was 
there at the time, was lost. The father ran a dairy just south- 
west of Woollam's lake. 

At Twelfth and Sealy avenue there lived a colored man and 
hh wife. There was a grocery on the corner and those who 



GOVERNOR REPORTS TWEJA'E THOUSAND bEAD. 853 

weathered the storm report that he stood near the beer keg in the 
bar room of the grocer}^ drinking steadily until he was swept 
away, his idea evidently being to destroy consciousness before the 
storm did it for him. His bod}^ was picked out of a pile of debris 
between Twelfth and Thirteenth on Sealy avenue. 

The Catholic Orphans' Home on the beach at the west end 
of the city went some time after 5:30 o'clock Saturday evening. 
Mr. Harry Gray, who lived in Kinkead subdivision, just beyond 
the city limits, was compelled to leave his house at that hour and 
says the home was standing then. Now not a vestige of it 
remains. Eight nuns and all but one of ninety-five children were 
lost. This child, a little tot, was found on the north side of the 
island in a tree. " I'se been 'seep," he lisped. " My head was in 
de water." 

MR. GRAY'S STORY. 

Mr. Gray's story is interesting. His house fell and he fought 
his way out with a wife who was just out of a sick bed. He 
managed to get to the next house with her. This was the home 
of Ed. Hunter. That house Avent between 6.30 and 7, and the 
Hunter family was lost. Mr. Gray caught a transom, put the 
arm of his wife through it, and soon found that the transom 
belonged to the side of the house, about 20x20 feet in size. It 
was nothing but the side of the house made of ordinary siding 
and studding. He swung onto this and even now does not under- 
stand how it stood'up under them. 

All the time he kept telling his wife to hold onto him, and 
this she did. Along in the night the raft struck a tree and was 
swept from under them. Gray caught a limb with his wife still 
clinging to him. By this time he was almost completely exhausted 
but he managed by a hundred successive efforts to get his Avife 
into the tree. 

A little later a colored man v^ds seen coming through the 

water. Gray called to him to take to the lower limbs and not 

come higher, for he was afraid the tree with three people on it 

would be made top-heavy. When daylight came he took his wife 

in his arms and told the negro to go ahead for a house they saw 
23 



854 GOVERNOR REPORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. 

in the distance, for iiad there been any holes he wanted to be 
advised of it before he went into them with his wife, for it was all 
he could do to push through the water in his exhausted condition. 

After working until lo o'clock he reached the high land in 
the Denver resurvey and eventually got to town. Not until yes- 
terday had he sufficiently recovered from his exhaustion to come 
onto the streets. He is cut and bruised in a dozen places. He 
says the water in Kinkead addition was ten feet deep. 

Robert Park and a party of men came in from Hitchcock 
Sunday, arriving that evening. They started in a skiff, and 
finally reached a prairie, over which they carried the boat. Finall}^ 
they reached water again, and along about noon went alongside the 
British steamer " Roma," which was dragged from her moorings 
in the roads between the jetties, about seven miles up the channel 
and landed in the draw of the county bridge. They report the 
steamer in good condition. They got water and food there and 
came on across. 

A GRUESOME SIGHT. 

Mr. Park says twenty people arrived at Hitchcock on rafts 
from Galveston before he left. These had been carried by the 
storm from Galveston to Hitchcock, a distance of about eighteen 
miles. They also saw a pile driven from the Huntington wharves 
high on the prairie far beyond Viginia Point. 

A gruesome sight passed along the street Monday afterno>on. 
Workmen in digging bodies from the debris found one of a hand- 
some man with dark hair and mustache and dressed in a light 
suit of clothes. He was on his knees, his eyes were uplifted, and 
his clasped hands were extended as in pi*ayer. It was evident that 
the man had been praying when he was struck and instantly killed. 
As a rule, the attitudes of those who were found were with hands 
extended up as if endeavoring to save themselves. 

The destruction of the Catholic Orphans' Home and the loss 
of seventy-five lives with it was told by one of three boys who 
came through a terrible experience by dint of good Providence 
and nothing else. It is a fact that three boys came into the city 



GOVERNOR REPORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. '6i>i, 

riuiu there who had passed through a terrible experience. With 
these three and one reported on the bay shore but four out of a 
total of seventy-eight people lived to tell the tale. 

According to the story all the children were gathered with 
the Sisters and the two workmen in the chapel on the ground 
floor in the west wing of the building. The storm was raging 
terribly outside and they all engaged in prayer. The east 
wing finally went down and they were driven from the chapel to 
the floor above, the water coming in and threatening to drown 
them. Some clambered out on the roof of the part remaining, 
but not all. Finally along about 8 o'clock — they are not positive 
as to the time by an hour — the remainder of the building went 
and the roof went into the water. 

DESTRUCTION OF CATHOLIC ORPHANS' HOME. 

What became of the others nobody can say. Campbell only 
knows that he got out from the building somehow and caught a 
piece of drift, either a part of the roof or something of the sort. 
The Murney boy broke through a transom and got out. He 
drifted for some time and finally caught a tree to which he clung 
and soon found that the two other boys had caught the same tree. 
Prior to that they had been separated, but a strange fate attracted 
them to the same place. 

This tree, it developed later, had caught in the masts of the 
wreck of the schooner "John S. Ames," which lies almost south of 
the home. There they remained all night. At one time Camp- 
bell was about to give up and cried that he was drowning. The 
Murney boy caught him and lashed him to the mast with a piece 
of rope that he found there. In that way was his life saved. 

When morning came they found that they were alone in the 
open Gulf on a tree. The tree soon broke adrift from the mast, 
and, strange as it may seem, brought them in shore. They 
finally landed and started west, not knowing which direction to 
take. They finally brought up at a house something like two 
miles from the place where the home h^d been but so recently 
located. There they found their location, but were unable to get 



S56 GOVERNOR REPORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. 

anything to eat because the woman in the house had nothing 
herself. 

So they came on toward the city, but it was a long, hard pull 
through wet sand, and hungry and faint for the want of fresh 
water and food. They brought up at a house that had gone 
through the storm, was partly demolished and at the back of 
which was another house supporting it. There they remained 
during Sunday night, and were afraid every minute that the force 
of the little blow that came up during the night would demolish 
the place of refuge. But it stood, and in the morning they 
started on, reaching the home of young Mumey during the day. 
There they got food and dry clothes. The other two boys were 
taken to the infirmary, where they are being cared for. 

NEW FEATURES OF THE CALAMITY. 

Another account is as follows and contains new pictures of 
the scene : 

The elements, which had been cutting up didoes and blowing 
every which way during the preceding twenty-four hours, got 
down to it in earnest fashion Saturday morning, when a strong 
wind, accompanied by rain, which first came in great splashing 
drops which one could almost dodge, but afterwards became a 
hard, driving rain, began to get in its work. 

Along the bay front the waves rose higher and higher and 
tossed about the small craft anchored in the slips like cockle 
shells. Striking the bulkheading of the wharves with mighty 
force the waves broke into clouds of spray, which leaped over the 
wharves and drenched the men whom duty or curiosity caused to 
be in that neighborhood. 

Although the wind was in the north, a heavy sea was run- 
ning and the breakers rolled up the beach with angry roars. The 
little bath houses on wheels scattered along the beach were picked 
up by the great waves and dashed against the row of little, flimsy 
structures along the Midway and piled up against them in uneven 
stacks. Karly in the forenoon the Midway presented a picture 
almost of desolation, filled as it was with debris from the small 



GOVERNOR REPORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. 357 

platforms, stairways and landings along tlie beach front, wliicli 
had been carried away and washed np by the sea. At times the 
waves would recede, leaving the beach almost bare of water, and 
then, as if gathering force anew they would sweep in, rolling 
several feet high, passing over the shelving beach, lapping over 
tracks of the street railway and gushing the water into avenue R. 
Early in the forenoon the waves were leaping at times over 
tne trestle work of the street railway along the beach front, 
making it impossible to operate the cars around the belt, as the 
v\^ater would have burned out the motors. The cars were therefore 
operated between town and the Gulf on the double tracks of either 
side of the belt line. A little later in the forenoon the waves under- 
mined the track at Twenty-fourth street and avenue R. They 
washed under the little Midwa}^ houses on the south side of 
avenue R, which were built ou piling, and in places carried away 
the sidewalks in front of the buildings, which were not thus 

supported. 

THE ANGER OF THE SEA. 

The platform which supported the photograph gallery at the 
Pagoda bath house was washed away. This was not a part of 
the original structure, and was not as strongly built as the 
remainder of the bath house. The bath house proper and its 
pier, extending out to sea, were not at that time (Saturday noon) 
disturbed by the waves, although the high rollers at times dashed 
so near the flooring of this and the other bath houses that it 
looked like a rise of a few inches would punch iip the flooring. 

The scene at the beach was grand. The sea in its anger 
was a sight beautiful, though awe-inspiring, to behold. Notwith- 
standing the wind and the driving rain, thousands of people went 
to the beach to behold the maddened sea, and the street cars were 
kept quite busy. Down town, during the early morning, when 
the rain was not so heavy, there seemed no apparent necessity for 
getting into rainy day garb lo make this trip to the beach, and 
many people went out in their best bibs and tuckers, to their 
sorrow. Well dressed men and women disembarked from the 
cars at the beach and picked their way amid swirling pools of 



358 GOVERNOR REPORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. 

water and the spent waves to get into midway and to pass along 
to places where a good view of tlie sea miglit be obtained. 

For a few minutes tbey sncceeded in keeping feet and bodies 
reasonably dry, but using umbrellas counted for naugbt, and 
were soon turned wrong side out or ripped into ribbons, and their 
owners getting partially wet, abandoned themselves to the inevit- 
able and went around seeing the sights, caring not for the 
weather, nor worrying about their good duds. Some people, with 
abundant foresight, appeared on the scene in bathing suits, and, 
of course, they were right in it from the j ump. 

At Tw^enty-iifth street the big waves rolled up the shelving 

beach, crossed the street railway tracks, leaving the water 

impounded behind the embankment. These waters backed up in 

the ditches and the low places of the street as far as avenue N, 

and the supply being ever replenished, both from the sea and 

from the clouds, there was no opportunity for this water to 

run off. 

IMPOSSIBLE TO NAVIGATE. 

The shell man and others of the Midway folk moved their 
stocks out during the morning to be on the safe side, but others, 
who have long been acquainted with the sea and who were less 
timorous, stayed by their places and kept their goods and chattels 
there. 

At that hour the water was on a level with the wharf at pier 
23, and was rapidly rising. Later it was almost impossible to 
navigate along the wharf front on account of the deep water and 
the high wind. Of course, it was wholly out of the question for 
any vessels to move for any purpose, and equally impossible for 
steamers to make an entry into the harbor. The pilot boat would 
not have been able to get alongside, and if any vessel approached 
the harbor she would have to put to sea for fear of grounding if 
she came too close. Several vessels are due. 

No attempt at doing any business was made after noon, for it 
was equally out of the question to load steamers as it was to move 
them. If damage was done it was the result of pounding. Some 
cement stored on the pier head was damaged by the water washing 



GOVERNOR REPORTS TWELVE THOUSAND DEAD. 359 

up under it in the morning, and as it was not practicable to move 
it, it is a total loss. 

While working with a gang of men clearing the wreckage of 
a large number of houses on avenue O and Center street, Mr. 
John Vance found a live prairie dog locked in the drawer of a 
bureau. It is impossible to identify the house or the name of its 
former occupant, as several houses were piled together in a mass 
of brick and timber. The bureau was pulled out of the wreckage 
a few feet from the ground, where it had been buried beneath 
about ten feet of debris. The little animal seemed none the worse 
from its experience of four days locked up in a drawer beneath a 
mountain of wreckage. It was taken home and fed by Mr. Vance, 
who will hold the pet for its owner if the owner survived the 
storm. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

An [sland of Desolation— Crumbling Walls— Faces White 

With Agony — Tales of Dismay and 

Death — Curious Sights. 

ONE of tlie most graphic and thrilling accounts of tlie over- 
wlielming calamity is contained in the following pages. It 
is from the brilliant pen of a visitor to the city and eye-witness 
of the awful ruin : 

The story of Galveston's tragedy can never be written as it 
is. Since the cataclysm of Saturday night, a force of faithful 
men have been struggling to convey to humanity from time to 
time some of the particulars of the tragedy. They have told 
much, but it was impossible for them to tell all, and the world, at 
best, can never know all, for the thousands of tragedies written by 
the storm must forever remain mysteries until eternity shall 
reveal all. Perhaps it were best that it should be so, for the hor- 
ror and anguish of those fatal and fateful hours were mercifully 
lost in the screaming tempest and buried forever beneath the rag- 
ing billows. Only God knows, and for the rest let it remain for- 
ever in the boundl&ssness of His omniscience. But in the realm 
of finity, the weak and staggered senses of mankind may gather 
fragments of the disaster, and may strive with inevitable incom- 
pleteness to convey the merest impression of the saddest story 
which ever engaged the efforts of a reporter. 

Galveston ! The mournful dirges of the breakers which lash 
the beach can not in the remaining centuries of the world give 
expression to the sorrow and woe which throbs here to-day ; and 
if the sobbing waves and sighing winds, God's great funeral 
choir, fail, how can the weak pen and appalled imaginations of 
men perform the task ? The human heart can merely feel what 
language will never be able to express. And in the case of Gal- 
veston, the heart must break before it can begin to feel. 

I struggled all f.ay Tuesday to reach this isle of desolation, 
860 



AN ISLAND OF DESOLATION. 861 

With Gen. McKibben, Gen. Scurry, Gen. Stoddard and several 
wbo had relatives liere about whom they were anxious, I spent 
five hours on the bay in a row boat, kindly loaned by the captain 
of the "Kendel Castle," a British steamship hopelessly stranded at 
Texas City, but finall}^ we landed on the island just as the stars 
were coming out. 

The very atmosphere smelt of death, and we walked through 
the quiet streets to the Tremont Hotel. Long before we landed 
we had seen the naked forms of men, women and children float- 
ing in the bay and were depressed until the entire party was 
heartsick. 

Men were grouped about the streets talking in quiet tones. 
Sad and hopeless women could be seen in dismantled houses, 
destitute children were about the streets, and all about them was 
nothing but wreck and ruin. Night had drawn a gray pall over 
the city and for awhile the autumn moon covered her face with 
dark clouds to hide the place with shadows. The town was under 
martial law, every saloon was closed, and passers-by were required 
to give an account of themselves before being allowed to proceed. 
The fact, however, that the streets were almost impassable on 
account of the debris kept us reminded that we were in the midst 
of unprecedented desolation. 

REVEALED A SCENE. 

Wednesday the sun drew aside the curtains of darkness and 
revealed a scene that is impossible of description. I spent hours 
driving or riding about the city, and witnessed the saddest spec- 
tacles ever seen by human eyes. What were once Galveston's 
splendid business thoroughfares were wrecked and crumbled. 
The Strand, known to every business man of the State, was lined 
on both sides with crumbling walls and wrenched buildings, and 
the street was a mass of debris, such as metal roofs rolled up like 
a scroll, splintered timbers, iron pillars, broken stone and bricks ; 
the same was true of Mechanic, and Market, and Tremont, and 
Twenty-first and Twenty-second, and every other street of the 
great business heart of Galveston. 



362 AN ISLAND OF DESOLATION. 

The stores were ruined and deserted, and tlie blight of 
destmction was visible as far as the eye could reacli. As horrible 
as all this was, it was as nothing to the hopeless faces of the 
miserable men, women and children in the streets. 

I will not undertake to describe them, but as long as I live 1 
will never forgot them. Many I knew personally, and these gave 
greeting, but God, it was nothing but a handshake and tears. It 
seems that everybody I had ever known here had lost somebody. 
The tears in their eyes, the quiver of their voices, the trembling of 
lips ! The brand of agony was upon their faces and despair was 
written across their hearts. I would plunge a dagger through my 
heart before I would endure this experience again. 

The readers of this must pardon the personal nature of this 
narrative. It is impossible to write without becoming a part of 
the story this time. I met Blma Everhart, formerly a Dallas boy. 
I had known him from childhood, and all his people. Indeed, I 
had. once been an inmate of their home in Oakcliff. I hardly knew 
him when he stopped me, he had grown so much. He said : 
" Katy and her baby are at Dickinson. That town was destroyed, 
but they are alive. I am going there and leave Galveston forever." 

A TERRIBLE FATE. 

I knew he had woe in his heart, and I queried. 

"lam the only one left," he answered. " Papa, mamma, 
Lena and Guy — they are all gone." 

I remember the last time I saw this family before they left 
Dallas. I remember Lena, one of the most beautiful children I 
ever saw. I recall her beautiful eyes and long, dark curls, and I 
remember when she kissed me good-bye and joyously told me she 
was coming to Galveston to live ! And this was her fate. 

With all my old fondness for the ocean, recalling how I have lain 
upon the sand hour after hour, looking at its distant sails and lis- 
tening to its mysterious voices, recalling happy moments too 
sacred for expression, when I think of that sweet child as one of 
its victims, I shall hate the sea forever. 

And yet, what can this grief of mine amount to in the pres- 



AN ISLAND OF DESOLATION. 363 

ence of the agony of the thousands who loved the 5000 souls who 
took leave of life amid the wdld surging waters and pitiless tem- 
pest of last Saturday night ? 

After surveying the dismantled business section of the city, 
a cabman made his tortuous way through the residence sections, 
it was a slow journey, for the streets were jammed with houses, 
furniture, cooking utensils, bedding, clothing, carpets, window 
frames, and everything imaginable, to say nothing of the numer- 
ous carcasses of the poor horses, cows and other domestic animals. 

HOUSES COMPLETELY CAPSIZED. 

Some of the houses w^ere completely capsized, some were flat 
upon the ground with not one timber remaining upon another, 
others were unroofed, some were twisted into the most fantastic 
shapes, and there were still others with walls intact, but which 
had been stripped of everything in the way of furniture. It is not 
an uncommon thing for the wind at high velocity to perform 
miraculous things, but this blast, which came at the rate of 120 
miles an hour, repeated all the tricks the wind has ever enacted, 
and gave countless new manifestations of its mysterious power. 
It were idle to undertake to tell the curious things to be seen iu 
the desolate residence streets ; how the trees were uprooted and 
driven through houses ; how telegraph poles were driven under 
car tracks ; how pianos were transferred from one house to 
another. 

More ominous than all this were the vast piles of debris, from 
which emanated odors which told of dead victims beneath, men, 
women and children, whose silent lips will never reveal the agony 
from which death alone released them. 

More sorrowful still the tear-stained faces of the women, half- 
clad, who looked listlessly from the windows, haunted by mem- 
ories from which they can never escape — the loss of babies torn 
from their breasts and hurled into a maelstrom of destruction, to 
be seen no more forever. 

What were those dismantled homes to the dismantled hearts 
within ? How can it be described ? Will the world ever kuow 



364 AN ISLAND OF DESOLATION. 

the real dimensions of tlie disastef whicH crusTied Ualveston anu 
left her broken and disconsolate like a wounded bird fluttering on 
the white sands of the ocean ? 

And the beach ? That once beautiful beach, with its long 
stretches of white sand — what has become of that? Misshapen, 
distorted, blotched and drabbled and crimsoned, it spread away to 
the horizons of the east and west, its ugly scars rendered more 
hideous by the glinting rays of the sun. Part of it had disap' 
peared under the purling waters. Far out here and there could 
be seen the piling, where once rested the places of amusement. 

The waves were lashing the lawns which once stretched 
before palatial homes. And the pools along the shore were stink- 
ing with the remains of ill-fated dogs, cats, chickens, birds, 
horses, cows and fish. Shoreward, as far as the eye could reach, 
were massive piles of houses and timbers, all shattered and torn. 

A cloud of smoke was noticed, and driving to the scene, we 

found a large number of men feeding the flames with the timbers 

of the wrecked homes which once gave such a charm to Galveston 

beach. 

BURNING looo HUMAN BODIES. 

And why the fire? The men were burning looo human 
bodies cast up by the sea, and the fuel was the timber of the 
homes which the poor victims once occupied ! And yet this 
awful spectacle was but a fragment of the murderous work of the 
greatest storm which has swept the ocean's shore for a century ! 

There were dozens of piles of sand in every direction along 
that mutilated shore. And men were noticed in the distance 
shoveling these uncanny mounds. 

We saw what they were doing. The bodies brought in by 
the tide were being buried deep in the sand. Driving beyond the 
grave diggers we saw prostrate on the sand the stark and swollen 
forms of women and children and floating farther out in the tide 
,vere other bodies soon to be brought in to be buried. The waves 
were only the hearses bringing in the dead to be buried in the sand 
along the shore. It is the contemplation of such scenes as thesQ 
that staggers consciousness and stings the human soul 



AN ISLAND OF DESOLATION. 3G5 

THey told me with sad humor that what I had seen was as noth- 
ing to what I could have seen had I been here Sunday and Monday 
mornings. I am glad, then, that I did not come sooner, and I am 
sorry that I ever came at all. What I have seen has been suffi- 
cient to make me miserable to the longest day of my life, and what 
I have heard that I could not see and could not have seen had I 
been in the storm, will haunt me by day and night as long as T^y^ 
senses remain. 

I am telling an incident repeated to me by one of the most 
prominent and distinguished citizens of Galveston. On Monday 
seven hundred bodies had been gathered in one house near the 
bay shore. Recognition of a single one was impossible. The 
bodies were swollen and decomposition was setting in rapidly. 
Indeed, the odor of death was on the air for blocks. What dispo- 
sition should be made of this horrifying mass of human flesh was 
an imminent problem. 

IMPOSSIBLE TO DISPOSE OF THE DEAD. 

While the matter was under discussion, the committee was 
informed that there was no time to waste in deliberation, that some 
of the bodies were already bursting. It was impossible to bury 
them, and they could not be incinerated in that portion of the city 
without endangering more life and more property, as there was no 
water to extinguish a fire once started. It was decided to load the 
bodies on a barge, tow it out to sea and sink them with weights 
That was the only thing to be done. 

Men were called to perform this awful duty, but they quailed 
at the task. And who could blame them ? They were told that 
quick action was necessary, or a pestilence might come and sweep 
off the balance of the living. Still they were immovable. It 
was no time for dallying. 

A company of men with rifles at fixed bayonets were brought 
to the scene, and a force of men were compelled, at the point of 
the bayonet, to perform this sad, sad duty. One by one the dead 
were removed to the barge, everybody as naked as it had come 
into the world — men, women and children, black and white, all 



366 AN ISLAND OF DESOLATION. 

classes of society and station and condition, were represented in 
that putrid mass. The unwilling men who were performing this 
awful task were compelled to bind cloths about their nostrils 
while they were at work, and occasionally citizens passed whiskey 
among them to nerve them to their duty. 

Who can conceive of the horror of this ? 

After awhile the seven hundred dead were piled upon the 
barge and a tug pulled them slowly out to sea. Eighteen miles 
out, where the sea was rolling high, amid the soughing white caps, 
with God's benediction breathed in the moaning winds, all that 
was mortal of these seven hundred was consigned to the mystic 
caves of the deep. 

And yet, this was but another incident of the sad tragedy of 
which we write. 

STORIES OF SORROW. 

George H. Walker, of San Antonio, known well in theatrical 
circles, was a member of the party which struggled all day Tues- 
day to get to Galveston, and he landed late at night. It was an 
anxious day for him, for this was the city of his birth and before 
the storm he had six brothers and five sisters living here, in addi- 
tion to his son, an aunt and his mother-in-law. 

He found his son safe and many other members of his family. 
They told him how the boy. Earl, a lad of 15, had at the height of 
the tempest placed his grandmother, Mrs. C. S. Johnson, on the 
roof of the house after it was floating in the current, and had made 
a second trip to bring his aunt to the roof When the lad returned 
the grandmother was gone, finding in the raging current her fiual 
peace. The boy and his aunt, another Mrs. Johnson, clung to the 
roof throughout and successfully weathered the gale. 

George Walker found later on, however, that his brother Joe, 
and his stepbrother, Nick Donley, had been swept away to feed 
the fury of the storm. 

I met W. R. Knight, of Dallas, who arrived yesterday at 
noon. He told me that he had found his mother, two unmarried 
sisters and married a sister, Mrs. E. Webster, safe. But he, too, 



AN ISLAND OF DESOLATION. 367 

had his sorrow. A sister, Mrs. Ida Toothaker, and her daughter 
Etta, were lost, and his brother-in-law, E. Webster, Sr., and five 
children, Charley, George, Kenneth, Julia and Sarah, had joined 
the other two loved ones on the bosom of the unresting sea. 

How many stories of sorrow like this that remain to be told 
cannot now be numbered. The anxious people who have been 
straggling into Galveston from a distance have usually found 
some dear relative or many of them missing and numbered among 
the thousands who became in a few brief hours the victims of the 
remorseless fnries. 

It is with reluctance that I relate one case that came under 
ni}' own observation. It was so horrible that perhaps it ought not 
to be told at all, but only such instances can convey a faint idea of 
the horror of the Galveston disaster. While rowing near the Hunt- 
ington whar\^es the naked upturned body of an unfortunate woman 
was observed floating in the water, with a half-born infant plainly 
in view. 

MASSACRE OF THE LIVING. 

Mr. L. H. Lewis, of Dallas, arrived 3^esterday looking for his 
son, George Cabell Lewis, who was found alive and well. Mr. 
Lewis said : "I helped to bury sixteen at Texas City last (Tues- 
day) night — all Galveston victims. They buried fifty-eight there 
Tuesday. Coming down Buffalo bayou I saw numberless legs 
and arms, mostly of women and children, protruding from the 
muck. I believe there are hundreds of women and children near 
the mouth of the bayou. As soon as men can be found to do the 
work these poor victims should be looked after. Unquestionably 
most of them were from Galveston Island. Among other things 
I saw were tombstones with inscriptions in German and rusty 
caskets which had been beached by the waves." 

The cruel elements were not content to massacre the living, 
but had to invade the silent homes of the unoffending dead. 

No man has been busier comforting the grief-stricken people 
of Galveston than Dr. R. C. Buckner of the Buckner Orphan Home 
in Dallas county. He leaves Thursday morniufr for his instiiu- 



868 • AN ISLAND OF DESOLATION. 

tion witli the homeless orphans of the Galveston Orphans' Home, 
which was wrecked by the storm. He has others besides these, 
and altogether he will take one hundred home with him. 

What a grand old man Dr. Buchner is ! I will take off my 
hat to him any day in the week. I have known him for years and 
there is not a nobler character alive. I saw him at Sherman when 
that city was ravished by a cyclone several years ago. He was 
there looking for orphans, and I know that he has always been 
quick to reach the scene of disaster and death. He got here 
Tuesday afternoon and lost no time in reaching his part of the 
work, and heaven knows there was none more important than 
that to which he assigned himself 

RESCUING DESTITUTE CHILDREN. 

But the people of Texas ought to know what he has done. 
They have always loved the Buckner home. They know what it 
has done in the way of rescuing destitute children. They 
know that hundreds of good men and women of the State have 
come from that institution — men and women who have become 
successful in life and who honor the State and the home by their 
useful and upright lives. But Texas will have greater cause than 
ever to love and revere Dr. Buckner and his institution when it is 
known that he has added to his family a hundred hapless victims 
of the Galveston storm, making in all 400 in his entire family. 
The heart of this State is throbbing here now, and whoever ren- 
ders a good service to Galveston will be honored by the State. 

If the people of the State and the outside world can not grasp 
the full measure of the Galveston horror, neither can the people 
of Galveston themselves. The town is dazed, and self-contained 
people are hard to find. There is a well-organized Citizens' Com- 
mittee at work in a consecutive and business manner, but the work 
before it is beyond the ability or power of any committee. 

It will be some time before thousands will know the real 
nature of the disaster which has overtaken them, and the world 
will never know it all. Men and women walk the streets and tell 
each other experiences and weep together as gradually the stories 



AN ISLAND OF DESOLATION. 3G» 

of loss come out. They are hysterical, half crazy, paralyzed and 
utterly dejected. There has been so such death and so much ruin 
that they don't know which way to turn or what to do. 

There has been much complaint on the part of visitors tn at 
the men don't go to work and help clear the debris from the 
streets. This job alone would give three thousand men a month's 
hard work. But a man can't work when he has before him the 
vision of his loved ones hurled to death in an instant and thinks 
of what has happened. 

A man who lost a wife and children, no matter how strong he 
may be, can't get his mind on the necessities of this town when 
he thinks of his family among the seven hundred sunk in the sea 
last Monday or the thousand burned in trenches on the beach 
yesterday. If he does not become a maniac or does not commit 
suicide it is a wonder, if one will stop to think of it for a minute. 

SHATTERED LIVES. 

They will come around after a while and will do their part. 
Thousands of them have not slept since last Friday night and 
may not sleep for a week to come. Pity them, for God knows their 
shattered lives are enough to drive almost any of us insane if we 
should stop to think. 

J. W. Maxwell, general superintendent of the Missouri, 
Kansas and Texas Railway ; J. W. Allen, general freight man- 
ager of the same road, and Major G. W. Foster, of the South- 
western Telegraph and Telephone Company, got in yesterday 
from Texas City. Coming across the bay, Mr. Maxwell said, not 
less than 300 bodies were seen floating in the water, and many 
more were being buried on the mainland shore. This proves 
vvhat many have contended from the first, that the casualties 
from the beginning have been understated. Under the debris of 
wrecked houses all over the city there is every reason to believe 
there are hundreds of bodies, and these must be disposed of as 
early as possible. In the rafts of the bay there are yet many 
bodies which must be looked for. 

It will never be possible to get the names of all who are lost, 
24 



870 AN ISLAND OF DESOLATION. 

but every day makes the list more definite. It will never be 
possible to get an accurate estimate of victims. It is safe to say 
that more than 3000 bodies have been seen so far, and the Gulf 
and bay and the debris of the city will unqiiestionabl}^ biing 
many more to view. If Mr. Lewis, of Dallas, has not over- 
estimated the number he observed in Buffalo bayou, tha^ stream 
may largely swell the total. How many have been buried 
beneath the shifting sand of the beach, will probably remain a 
secret forever. 

It is touching to witness the sympathy of the nation with 
Galveston. As the means of communication are improved, the 
people here are getting a definite idea of what it means to stir the 
sympathies of mankind. It seems that the country has for the 
time forgotten its politics and its curious interest in the broad 
affairs of the world to weep over this stricken city. It is said a 
touch of pity makes the world akin, and Galveston is compassed 
about by the throbbing heart of mankind. 

HAS REACHED A CRISIS. 

It is well that it so, for this town has reached a crisis in its 
life when this sustaining influence is needed. It is not suprising 
that many surviving victims of the storm are about to succumb to 
despair. God knows the burden of anguish which oppresses 
every heart here is calculated to breed despair. The duty of the 
hour, however, is too plain to be disregarded. This island must 
be restored to its former beauty and greatness in all the arts and 
industries of civilization, and it is fortunate that some of the citi- 
zens here realize this. They are going to encourage the others 
and there is no reason to believe that there will be failure. 

It required more than half a century to build up what the storm 
destroyed in twelve hours, but it will not require but a fraction of 
.that period to restore the city. As Chicago rallied from the great 
fire, so Galveston must and will arise from the ruins of this 
hour. The wharves, which are the foundation of the city's com- 
mercial establishment, will be rebuilt and the traf&c will come as 
of yore. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Thousands Died in their Efforts to Save Others — Houses 

and Human Beings Floating on the Tide — An Army 

of Orphans — Greatest Catastrophe in Our History. 

^^ A A7"HBN did you first realize tliat 5'ou were in danger?'' 

' " That, ordinarily, would seem to be a foolish question to 
put to a man who had escaped death as it rode on the storm, and 
3^et it was not a foolish question, but the natural one. For the 
Galveston people had for years argued out the question of the 
danger attending the living on the island. True, Indianola, awful 
even now in memor}^, stood out as an alarm to those who live 
down by the sea. True, there had been storms and storms in 
Galveston. True, their were people on the great mainland who 
contended that wind and water would bring disaster to Galveston 
whenever the two acted in concert and from the right direction. 

But the answer to the Indianola alarm was that the situation 
of that unfortunate town exposed it to a storm fury ; that it was 
a fair mark ; that it was almost level with the water and all that. 
The fact that there had been storms and storms at Galveston onl}^ 
confirmed the people in their securit^^ For as each had passed 
away without carrying any great number of lives with them, why 
should not this do the same ? 

As to the people on the mainland who had prophesied disaster, 
why, they were merely timid and ignorant people. Therefore the 
question "when did you realize that 3^ou were in danger" was a 
reasonable one. And the answer was the same in nearl}- every case. 
There might have been a difference as to the moment when these 
people, penned like rats in a cage, first felt the terror of impend- 
ing death, but invariably the answer was that the storm was almost 
at its height before the realization came. In many cases only the 
falling houses brought the realization. 

One little girl at a grocery store out on avenue P, from which 
street to the Gulf, the storm swept the island like a broom, 

371 



372 DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 

answered me : "Motlier and my eigiit little brothers and sisters 
were upstairs, and I went down to see what the water was doing 
in the store. You see we live upstairs over the store. My papa 
is dead a long time ago. When I went down my brother went 
with me and the water was half way up the counter. But that 
didn't scare us, because we have seen high water and heard the 
winds before. Well, we went back and in a few minutes we were 
down again. 

"Then the counter was floating. Brother said not to tell 
mother, but I did. Then we saw a house tumble down and we 
heard people crying. We got scared then and me and mamma 
prayed. We prayed that one of us would not be drowned if the 
little children were not drowned, because one of us would have to 
be their mother." 

The maternal love was uppermost. But the love of that 
little girl for her little brothers and sisters, as she told me the 
story in her simple way, passeth in greatness all understanding. 

"I FELT THAT THE END HAD COME." 

"When did you think you were in real danger? " I asked 
of a merchant. 

"Not until Ritter's house went down and I saw the waters 
rapidly climbing the walls. We had passed through the terrible 
storm of 1875, and had lived. Since then the island has been 
raised five feet or more. Why should we not have felt easy ? 
But when the wind and waves began to show their fur}^, when I 
saw these extra five or more feet covered by a raging torrent which 
raced hither and thither, I felt that the end had come. Up the 
waters came about the fence — up they came and covered the 
hedge. Up they came and knocked at the door. 

"Yet I still thought the end would be reached. We had 
been told that the height of the storm would be at 9 o'clock. At 
5 and 6 and 7 the waters continued to climb and the winds to take 
on new strength. At the last hour they were at the door. What 
must come, then, at 9 ? My heart fell then. I had peered out of 
the window and saw the dreadful enemy assault the house. Then 



DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAV^E OTHERS. 878 

'c^gouized people were heard. It was dark and tlie spray sped in 
sheets. Yet it was light enough to see now and then. People in 
boats and wading came along. Their houses were gone. Mine 
rocked like a cradle, and I felt the end had come." Thus said 
another man : "What were your feelings ? " " Nothing but that of 
complete resignation. I have read much in books of the tableaux 
of the past appearing to the human mind on the eve of man's dis- 
solution. In no instance have I found that the survivors of this 
terrible thing remembered the past. Some were frightened and 
simply shrieked and laid hold of anything that would relieve them 
from the embraces of the water. Some were frightened and prayed 
for mercy. Some were frightened into dumb resignation, partak- 
ing of dumb indifference." 

NOBLE DEEDS IN TIME OF DISASTER. 

In all great catastrophes I have yet to know of one that some 
special act of selfishness and brutality did not occur. There is 
hardly a great wreck recorded in which is not depicted the brute 
who pushed women from boats or from spars. In all I have heard 
of the thousands of incidents connected with this storm, not an 
instance of that selfishness which would cause one person to 
deprive another of his means of escape has occurred. Thousands 
of instances of devotion of husband to wife, of wife to husband, of 
child to parent and parent to child can be mentioned. 

One poor woman with her child and her father was cast out 
into the raging waters. They were separated. Both were in drift 
and both believed they went out in the Gulf and returned. The 
mother was finally cast upon the drift, and there she was pounded 
by the waves and debris until she pulled into a house against 
which the drift had lodged. During all that frightful ride she 
held to her 8-months-old babe, and when she was on the drift pile 
she lay upon her infant and covered it with her body, that it 
might escape the blows of the planks. She came out of the ordeal 
cut and maimed. But the infant had not a scratch. 

Another man took his wife from one house to another by 
swimming until he had occupied three. Each fell in its turn, and 



371 DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 

tlien h<i took to the waves. Tlie}^ Vv^ere separated and eacli, as tlie 
persons above mentioned, believed tbey were carried to sea. 
Strange to say, after three hours in the water he heard her call, 
and finally rescued her. 

It is not necessary to go on and recite these instances, for 
there were thousands, each showing that in time of danger at 
least the best sentiments in man's nature are aroused. It can be 
safely guessed that one-half of those who perished, died in their 
effort to aid others. The trite expression of "man's inhumanity 
to man" has no place in all that may be written or spoken of this 
great traged3\ 

DIRECTION OF THE STORM. 

It is not a. ill remarkable that of all the statements in regard 
to the details of this storm no two persons can be found who agree 
on the direction of the wind and the currents. All agree that the 
most terrible blows which the town received came from the point 
of the compass which may be spoken of as between northeast and 
east. There are those who declare that first the wind was almost 
from the north. Then it veered till it was almost east, and then 
settled down to its herculean efforts from a point between the 
two; and yet there are others who say that it came from all <d Erec- 
tions at different times and prove it by the loss of windows in 
their houses. 

These waves came in from the Gulf They filled the bay. 
The water chased across the island, met the waves and then it 
seems there was a battle between the two elements. For the cur- 
rents ran criss-cross. They went down one street, up another 
street and across lots. The}^ seized a house here and placed it 
there. They seized a house there and placed it here. Men were 
carried to sea. Men were carried down the island. Men were 
carried across the ba}^ b}^ it. No chart can be even dreamed of 
their peculiarities. The wind lashed the water and it fled. That 
was all there was in it, and it fled in every direction, carrying on 
its bosom a shrieking people. It carried too, houses whole, 
houses in halves, houses in kindling wood. 



DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 378 

The winds dipped and seized tlie debris and hurled it on. 
The air was filled with missiles of every kind. The water held 
them and threw them from wave to wave. The winds grasped 
them as they were thrown and hurled them further. Stoves, bath 
tubs, sewing machines, slates from roofs — these were as light in 
the hand of the two giants, wind and water, now in their fury, as 
the common match would be in the hand of the strong man. 

From the northeast it is generally conceded the storm came. 
Galveston island runs nearly east and west. So it will be seen 
that it had a clean sweep from end to end of it. The streets are 
numbered across the island. They are lettered as they run with 
the island, east and west. For instance, the street running east 
and west nearest the bay is A street. Then there is B, and so 
on toward the Gulf P and Q streets may be said to be two-thirds 
across the island, that is to say, they are three-quarters of a mile 
from the bay and a quarter of a mile from the Gulf This is not 
an accurate statement and is only given to illustrate. Between 
Q street and the Gulf were hundreds and hundreds of houses. 
While many were fine mansions, the great majority of them were 
the houses of the poor. 

HAMMERED INTO SHAPELESS MASSES. 

Coming down the island from the east, the storm struck 
these habitations. 

It was in this area, east and west, from one end of the town 
to the other, it did its worst. The large houses were overthrown. 
Where they fell they were hammered into shapeless masses. The 
small ones were taken up. A man can take two eggs and mash 
them against each other. The waters took the remnants and 
pushed them forward. One street of buildings would go down. 
That would be next to the Gulf The timbers were hurled against 
another street. It would go down. The debris of the two would 
attack the third. The three would attack the fourth, and thus 
on till Q street was reached. Here the mass lodged. 

It is said by some, though I know nothing of it, that aboul 
it is the back-bone, or high part of the island. The great mass 



S76 DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 

of matter .became ieavy. It must Have dragged upon tlie ground 
as the water liere could have only been five to seven feet deep. 
But this would not have stopped it, had the last street to be 
assaulted, Q street or Q)^ street, not interposed. The houses here 

, were rather large and strong. This battering ram made by the 
winds and worked both by the winds and the water, met with 

'resistance from the houses and was impeded by its own weight, 
which dragged it on the bottom. Its efforts at destruction became 
more and more feeble. The houses stood, though wrecked. The 
debris climbed to the very eaves. 

But the more that came, the heavier the mass became. And 
lo ! the very assailant became the defender ! For, piling higher 
and higher — piling higher and higher by the addition of houses 
lately splintered, b}^ the addition of everything from a piano to a 
child's whistle, there was a wall built against the great waves 
which rolled in from the Gulf, and thereby the territory lying 
between the bulwark and the bay, was protected to some extent. 
True, the casual observer will think as he looks even up and down 
the main streets of the town, that very little protection was given. 

A BULWARK OF DEAD PEOPLE. 

But few lives were lost, in comparison, in this district, and 
while the stores were flooded and houses toppled over by the winds 
and undermined by the water, yet that bulwark made of dead 
people and all they had struggled for and owned in this life, kept 
back the savage waves from the Gulf and saved the rest of the 
town. Looking at this wall, from which, as I write, come the 
odors of decomposition, climbing it, as this correspondent has 
done, he is sure in his mind that if it had not been formed not as 
many people of Galveston Island would have escaped as on 
that day when Pompeii was shut out from the eyes of the world 
by the veil of ashes. 

^ These are speculations. In years to come men may be able 

V.O talk of this greatest of catastrophes* in the cool, deliberate way 
which will admit of reasonable hypotheses as to the causes of the 
results, but they cannot do it now. The wind blew from the east. 



DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 377 

Tile currents were criss-cross. M}^ God, it was awfiii. And that 
is as far as you can get witli any of those left. For they know no 
more. They know that the wind blew. They know the waves 
rolled. They know, or most of them do, that they lost dear ones, 
and that is all. The hydrographer of the future may tell us all. 
But as far as such people of North Texas, as I am, they will 
leave it to him. He may know the currents and the winds, and 
tell to the satisfaction. But he will never tell of these horrors. I 
cannot in the present. I may not be able to do it in the future. 
When the story of the funeral pyres and the burials at sea, and 
the reasons for both, are explained — when the pictures are given 
of the rescued, hunting for the dead — then indeed if all are drawn 
as they are — natural and unstained — another monstrosity in news 
paper life will have arisen. 

GALVESTON SAFE NOW. 

No man — scientist or mere citizen — is authority upon the 
ivondrous winds and ties that reduced the island of Galveston to 
an incomprehensible pot pourri of devastation. All is guess 
work, behind which there is neither science nor common sense. 
As far as a deliberate proposition evolved by a fair measure of 
judgment in which there enters as little of egotism as is possible 
with human beings, I would rather trust the guesser than the 
scientist. 

As I begin the story at nightfall, the lightning is illuminat' 
ing the bank of clouds massed over the Gulf horizon. For the 
past half hour I have looked upon the flashes, and those around 
me wondered if it were to come again. The "it," of course, 
means the visitation of last Saturday night. They look anxiously 
around as the streaks of gold and silver illumine the sky at quick 
intervals. 

M}^ friends are those who went through the awful experience 
of the cataclysm. I know as well as mortal man can know any 
thing that this island is no longer a target for the elements. I 
know that a target like this devastated island could no longer 
invite the shafts of the elements, even if the elements were 



878 DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS 

endowed wltli liuman or divine intelligence. And I know in the 
simple faitli of liumanity that the God who "plants his footsteps 
in the sea and rides upon the storm" would reach out with hip 
omnipotent arm and throttle the agencies of nature if they should 
again aggravate wind and wave to vent their wrath upon these 
desolate shores. 

I know that if the sorrows of this community, what remains 
of it, have thrilled humanity, they must have touched the well- 
springs of divine mercy and sympathy, and that the helpless 
victims who have survived the tragedy of this moment may feel 
safe from another attack from the remorselessness of the storm. 

LIGHTNING FLASHES IN DARKNESS. 

Galveston, stricken and bleeding, is safe from the wrath of 
all powers, human or divine. The vivid lightnings ma}^ cleave 
the sleepless waves of the sea and the thunders may play at will 
among the fantastic clouds in the sky. Galveston, soothed and 
compassed by the tenderness of mankind, is veiled in the folds of 
heaven's mercy, and the shrieking tempest is now but a whisper 
from the sky, the angry wave but the gentle falling of tears from 
above the stars. 

It is so hard to write the story or a chapter of it without 
feeling the power that appalls human intelligence, just as it is 
hard to disassociate overwhelming sorrow from that broad sym- 
pathy which we do not understand, but which never fails to 
nestle close to human misery. Call it what you ma}^, it is part 
of human life, and its presence comes when disaster overwhelms 
to bring humanity in the presence of God. 

Who can dispute this in the presence of the all-pervading 
mystery of the storm ? Who can laugh to scorn the sympathy 
whose manifestations have already reached the widows and 
orphans, whose desolate lives now find comfort from the realms 
above ? This is not a matter of appealing to emotion. I have 
before me this minute four rings. The man who brings them 
tells me that they were taken from rigid fingers, among the 700 
who on last Monday were sunk to rest amid the borderless 



DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 379 

fathoms of the sea. He says tlie}^ ma}- be the means of identifi- 
cation of three lost ones. No ; there can be no identification ; 
but who can tell the tender secrets which these circlets pledged ? 
Identification is impossible deep down among the mysteries of 
the sea. 

The tragedy grows greater every moment. The romances 
dead to the world, the grief lost beneath the wave or carried to 
the vapors above the earth, the aching hearts soothed by lasting 
peace, the tired souls in the arms of endless rest, the ambitions 
stilled by the calm which banishes the anguish of life's dreary 
struggle — it matters not wdiat these rings may bring to mind — 
we are yet confronted with the loss of the thousands who shall 
never again press these wave-kissed shores. The sentiment of 
this people is, God rest every one who sleeps beneath the wave, 
and gather to everlasting peace the ashes of all whose funeral 
pyres were built of these shattered homes. 

A DAY OF ANGUISH. 

It has been a day of anguish like all the days of this week 
have been. There has been no cessation of tear-stained faces 
rippearing here and there to tell of the lost. And it is a wonder 
if the end of this sad divulgence will ever come. A motherless 
boy or a fatherless girl, a now childless mother or father, or what- 
ever it may be, they still come to tell of their woe, and the stolid 
men who glide over the water or who search the shore, still bring 
in the swollen and unrecognizable victims of the storm. It will 
end some day, and agonizing hearts may rest the painful throb- 
bings of this hour. 

It matters not how great the numbers of the dead, they are 
numerous enough to shock the sympathies of the world, and they 
are gone forever. But we fear to look upon the sea, lest some 
heartless wave shall bring to view the cold, stark form of some- 
body whom somebody loved. The victims are still growing into 
larger thousands, and the bereft are still coming in to tell of 
losses. It is a continued story of anguish and death, such as 
Texas has never known before and will never know again 



380 DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 

It is needless to repeat the sad discoveries whicli every day 
brings forth. It is said that every wave of the sea has its trag- 
edy, and it seems to be true here. In Galveston it has ceased to 
be anxiety for the dead, but concern for the living. The su- 
preme disaster, with its overwhelming tale of death and destruc- 
tion, has now abated to lively anxiety for the salvation of the 
living. 

Men are at work clearing the streets of piles of timber and 
refuse. Men are beginning to realize that the living must be 
cared for. It is now the supreme duty. There is much work to 
be done, and it is being done. Women and children are being 
hurried out of the city just as rapidly as the limited facilities of 
transportation will permit. The authorities and committees are 
rational and idleness is no longer permitted. There is an element 
with an abundance of vital energy, who intend to save the town, 
and the town is being saved. 

WORK RAPIDLY PUSHED. 

Burying the dead, feeding the destitute, cleaningthe city and 
repairing wrecks of all characters is under fair headway and will be 
pushed as rapidly as men can be found to do the work. The great 
utilities of the city are being repaired to a state of usefulness, 
men are in demand, and workers are coming to engage in the duty 
of restoration. Life is beginning to supersede death, and there is 
apparent everywhere a desire to save the city and rebuild it. 
Before another week has passed, the listlessness of mourning 
people will have been changed into a lively interest in life, and as 
this becomes so, Galveston will begin to realize j ust what the 
world expects of her. 

Colonel W. L. Moody reached Galveston on Friday night, 
returning from New York. He was in New York when the news 
of the storm reached there and he immediately started for home. 

He had determined before he reached here that he would 
rebuild everything he had which had been damaged by the storm, 
and he was hoping that telegraphic communication would be 
restored so that the work of relieving the distress might be 



DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 381 

rendered more efficient and so that people might wire for the 
material necessary to repair and rebuild their houses. 

When asked for a statement as to his intentions, he said : 
"I was in New York when the news of the storm came, and 
intended to start for home the last of this week, but immediately 
changed my plans and left for Galveston at once. The people 
of this country have responded generously, liberally, to the cr^ 
for assistance ; the disaster is appalling and appeals to the feel- 
ings and sympathy of mankind. And the country has responded 
liberally, as I said, even before they knew or appreciated the 
extent of the ruin and its consequences. 

"The first news we received was very mild compared with 
what followed. Galveston was cut off from communication with 
the world, and the story of the storm was but partially told. The 
further along I got on my journey home, the fuller became the 
information in regard to the storm and we learned more and more 
of the greatness of the disaster. The fact that the world 
responded so freely to the first appeal is gratifying and inspires 
us with confidence in humanity. Those who have suffered from 
the storm will be cared for by a generous and sympathetic public. 
The prompt and generous aid is a beautiful thing. 

DAMAGE WILL BE REPAIRED. 

" What of the future ? Galveston will be rebuilt ; it will be 
stronger and better than ever before. On my way home I stated 
that I would restore my property, whatever the damage might 
be, as quickly as money and men would do it, if I was the only 
man to take that course ; and I furthermore said that I believe I 
knew and understood what the feeling of the business community 
of Galveston was in this respect and that I had voiced it. 

" At Texas City I met a woman from Kansas City. She was 
demoralized by what she had passed through and seen and she 
declared that Galveston would never be rebuilt ; that no one 
would be foolish enough to again build in a place which had been 
;o storm swept. 

" Answering her, I said that she did not know what she was 



H8'2 DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 

talking about ; that Galveston would be rebuilt because it was 
necessary to have a city here ; that if the storm had swept the 
island bare of every human habitation and every structure and 
had left it as barren as it was before civilized man set foot upon 
it, still men would come here and build a city, because a port was 
demanded at this place. ' And why should we not restore our 
city ? ' I asked. ' It has been visited by the severest storm on 
record. As it has withstood that storm, partially, why should we 
hesitate to rebuild ? Why should we consider it less safe than 
another place ? Can you conceive that another such a storm is 
more likely to strike at that exact spot again in a thousand years ? 
Can you tell me any spot on earth, on hill or dale, on mountain 
or plain, on which you can guarantee me any immunities ? If so, 
I would like to go there. If I were in the accident insurance 
business, I would rather insure a man against storm in Galves- 
ton than to insure a man in New York against accident on the 
railroads. You are now on your way to Kansas City. Do you 
know that you will reach there safely ? Do you know that 3^ou 
may not be pitched into some river and drowned, or being only 
half drowned be burned to death ? ' 

WILL BUILD BETTER THAN BEFORE. 

" I slept at my home last night with as great a sense of 
security and safety as I ever have felt during my residence in this 
city," Colonel Moody continued. " There may be some people 
who will leave here, but there will be enough people left here who 
will rebuild their properties and go ahead with the city to form 
the nucleus for its future, growth. We will build better thau 
before, and the city will be better and stronger and safer than 
ever. 

'■ The railroads are leading off with this better construction ; 
they will build a double track steel bridge. Every man who 
builds in this city hereafter will build better and stronger than 
before, and the weaker structures will be weeded out. We will 
have better building regulations, and men will not be permitted, 
if they would, to construct faulty buildings. 



DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 38* 

"Some people may say, ' Oli, Mood}^ can afiford to make 
this talk ; he is planted down here and can not get awa}'/ Bnt 
let me tell yon I could get away very easily if I wanted to. The 
greater portion of what I hope I own is not in Galveston, but is 
scattered throughout the State. It is in the hands of merchants 
throughout Texas to whom we have made advances on cotton. I 
•could get away very easily if I had any desire to do so ; in fact, I 
believe I could liquidate and get out of town about as easily as any 
man in it. 

" So far as our business and property are concerned, the bank 
is running along with unimpaired facilities. I have had an archi- 
tect at work all day preparing for the immediate restoration of the 
bank building, the compress buildings and my other propert}^ 
The compress machinery is intact, and we will be pressing cotton 
again within a week. Some of the partition walls in the cotton 
warehouses were blown out, but we will have a force of men at 
work immediately and will have them rebuilt before it is realized. 
And the walls will be better than they were before, because they 
were originally constructed by contract, while I am now having 
them rebuilt myself by day's work. 

MOST MIRACULOUS ESCAPE. 

" The people of Texas have not lost confidence in Galveston 
and have not manifested a disposition to quit the city. In to-day's 
mail we received bills of lading for three hundred bales of cotton 
shipped to us since the storm." 

The most miraculous escape from the storm reached one of 
the newspapers in a roundabout way. An employe of the paper 
was coming to work when he overheard a few words passing 
between a couple of men talking on the street. He heard enough 
to elicit his interest and made inquiries. One of the men told him 
that an old German, whose name he did not know, had been picked 
out of the debris at Sherman square Saturday evening after hav- 
ing laid there a week. 

People going by heard a sound which seemed to them like a 
groan. Thev stopped to listen and the groan was repeated. They 



^iM DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 

hastily pulled off tlie debris and tliere found the old man still alive. 
It was understood that he was immediately taken to the home ox 
friends at Tenth and Mechanic streets for care and treatment. 

This story is the most remarkable instance of preservation 
of life recorded. The man must have gone through at least 
a portion of the storm to have been caught in the drift. He 
must have been above the water line at that point or he would 
have drowned. Why his groans were not heard before is not 
understood, unless it be that he laid unconscious until shortly 
before he was found. What a tenacity of life the man must have 
had to lie there for a week without food or water buried beneath 
all that debris. 

Pete Brophey, clerk of the corporation court, is lying in a 
room at the Tremont Hotel suffering from injuries received in the 
storm. The story he tells of his miraculous escape, like the many 
others, wonderful, yet terrible, is also one of sorrow, as he lost his 
aged parents in the storm. 

HE TOOK THE AWFUL RISK. 

When the storm began to get so ferocious he became 
frightened. In the evening, just after dark, securing a boat, he 
started out with his parents to a Mr. Cleveland's, a neighbor's 
house, it being large and the most substantial in the neighbor- 
hood. At that time the water was rising rapidly and was being 
lashed into a perfect fury by the terrific wind. It was a terrible 
thing to start out in the water under such conditions, but he saw 
that their house would not stand long, so he took the awful risk. 
The boat was a small affair, and with three people in it, it was 
overloaded ; nevertheless, with great daring he succeeded in get- 
ting his mother and father into it, the former being 62 years of 
age and the latter 66. It was a terrific risk, but he had to take it. 
After getting his parents into the boat he started out tr his 
neighbor's house. 

The waters were rushing like mad down the street, and 
whipped the boat around as if it were but a straw. Added to the 
terrible force of the waters was the terrific wind. They were get- 



DIliD IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. . 38b 

ting aloug all right, uotwitlistandiug this, and were making for 
the honse below them, when, just ahead, he saw a man and 
woman and several children making for the boat. When it came 
near enough they grasped its sides and begged to be taken in. 

It was indeed a trying situation. There he was, with his 
aged parents with him in a boat already overloaded, with the wind 
blowing almost a hundred miles an hour and carrying all before 
it, with the waves dashing everything to pieces and hurling the 
timbers of the houses against whatever might be in the way, with 
a force that only the most vivid imagination can picture. It was 
a terrible ordeal, but like the man that he is, he could not leave 
those begging parents and crying children without making at 
least an effort to save them. So, after great difhculty, the woman 
and children got aboard, and the perilous journey to what they 
hoped would be a haven of refuge was again begun, or rather it 
had been going on all the time, as the boat was being carried down 
on the crest of the waves with frightful velocity. 

THE BOAT CAPSIZED. 

When almost abreast of the house the boat capsized. Then 
again Brophej^ showed his bravery and that he was through and 
through a hero. Instead of striking out alone for the house he 
thought of his parents and the drowning family. After much 
difficulty, after having gone under time and time again in his 
frantic efforts to save his loved ones and the destitute family, he 
at last succeeded in getting them into the house. 

That place they found filled to overflowing with refugees like 
themselves. The house was creaking and trembling under the 
terrible force of the water and wind, and Brophey saw that it 
would be but a little while before it, too, would have to succumb. 
So he braced himself in a door and waited for the inevitable. It 
was but a, little while till it came. The house went down and all 
with it except Brophey, who found himself on top of the water in 
a gurgling and seething mass of timbers, roofs and other debris. 
He crawled up on one roof only to have another one thrown like 
a blanket over him. 

25 



386 DIED IN F.FFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 

Thus lie Struggled for two hours in what was an enormous 
raft of several hundred broken up houses, going before the wind, 
being churned together in a huge caldron by the waters. Whole 
roofs and sides of houses were bobbing, striking, sinking, turning 
over and moving together like chips in a huge whirlpool. Words 
can not describe that awful scene. In it all Brophey and hundreds 
of others were struggling for their lives almost all in vain. Dead 
bodies of women and children who had succumbed to the inevita 
ble in the early part of the storm, and men and women whom 
the waters had not yet killed, but were playing with like a cat 
does a mouse before hurling them into the beyond, were car- 
ried hither and thither. 

DODGING TIMBERS IN THE WATER. 

Thus Brophey struggled, several times giving up and letting 
himself go down, but rising each time with a determination to 
fight until the bitter end, although terrible odds were against 
him. After having been in this mighty whirlpool for almost an 
hour, dodging huge timbers, crawling on roofs and sides of 
houses, being sucked under with them, he saw a house standing. 
With almost a last effort, he struggled and fought his way to a 
window of the house. There were ready hands to pull him 
through the window. 

This haven which saved his life, together with a number of 
others, belonged to a negro and is situated near Thirty-seventh 
street. It was filled with negro refugees, and it is, indeed, to 
their credit that they struggled with such heroism to save 
Brophey and several others who drifted b}^ 

Getting into the house, he threw himself on the floor, more 
dead than alive, and there remained until after the rtorm, when 
, 'le was taken by friends to the Tremont Hotel, where he has 
become convalescent. 

One of the interesting features of the story of his terrible 
struggle is his unintentional rescue of a dog. Early in his mad 
career in that most awful caldron he ran across a dog. From 
til at time until his rescue it stayed with him, and would not be 



DTFJ) IN KFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 887 

pushed off, and at last succeeded in crawling into the window 
after him. He is going to send for the dog, and declares that 
never while he is living will it want for a rug to sleep on and a 
bone to eat. 

A. C. Fonda, chief clerk in the Santa Fe general freight 
office, at Galveston, had a fearful experience during the storm. 
He said that on Saturday afternoon, when it became apparent 
that the flood was going to be very high, that he went down to 
his home to remove the furniture from the lower floors to the 
upper, never dreaming that the effects of the storm would be 
more than a flooding of the first floors of residences. His famil}' 
being awa}^ in California, fortunately for them, he worked alone 
and had about removed everything when the water got so high 
that he could not escape from the house. 

FLOATED IN A TANK. 

He had noted a large zinc-lined wooden tank on the uppei 
floor, used for holding water, and which he thought might be 
used for a boat, when suddenly the crash came and he knew no 
more for possibl}^ an hour. He recovered consciousness to find 
himself floating in the tank on the surging waters, bruised, bleed- 
ing and almost drowned. He managed to escape to higher 
ground in a short while and crawled into a deserted house, where 
he spent a night of horror, suffering from his injuries and 
momentarily expecting death. As soon as daylight came he 
sought surgical assistance, and then saw the awful results of the 
hurricane's work. Mr. Fonda is bruised all over, and has a deep 
wound on the back of his head, but no bones were broken and he 
is able to be at work. 

E. F. Adams, chief clerk in the Santa Fe passenger depart- 
ment, at Galveston, is also a flood sufferer, but happily his 
family are in St. Louis at present, and his residence, being at 
Alvin, only suffered slight damage. He said that he and fifty- 
two others occupied the Santa Fe general offices on the night of 
the storm, and, in his opinion, very few of them, if an}^ realized 
the awfuluess of the disaster until next day, as the sheet-irou 



•588 DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 

roof on the train shed became loose early in the eveninor, and the 
tremendous noise it made in flopping up and down prevented 
them from hearing the crash of falling buildings, or, perhaps, the 
screams of drowning human beings during the night. 

It was only when they came out next morning, Mr. Adams 
said, that he realized what the storm meant to thousands in thei 
fated city. Almost the first object that met his eyes was the 
corpse of a child lying on the sidewalk, which staggered him, and 
with the sickening sights afterward presented to his view, gave 
him a shock whose gruesomeness it will take a lifetime to effiice. 

TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE OF A SURVIVOR. 

A letter to a newspaper furnishes the following account of the 
terrible experiences of one of the survivors : 

"I came home from ni}^ work Saturday evening about 4 
o'clock, with Lewis Fisher. I left Lewis on Tremont street and 
avenue O, where the water was three feet deep. He said he was 
going out to help his people, and told me good-bye. So I started 
for home to see how my folks were. When I got home I found 
my folks all there, and the water was then five feet deep. I lived 
one block from the beach. I began to take them out. Our front 
steps had already washed awa3^ I took them to S. Smith's house 
on Seventeenth and O, a big two-story house, thinking it would 
be safe. 

" But it began to grow worse, so I took my father, sister and 
two smaller brothers on Nineteenth and O, in Mrs. Carlstedt's 
house, where there were some thirty people. I told my father to 
take care of the children, and started back for my mother and 
brother. On my way I met ni}^ friend, Gus Smith, of Nineteenth 
and O, and he told me that he would go with me and help me gel 
m}^ mother and brother. 

" It took us an hour to swim one block, and when we got to 
the house it had already been washed into the street, and my lit- 
tle brother had been washed outside and was drowning, but I got 
him in time and took him back inside. Smith and I went inside 
and there we found a colored family and the Armour family, all 



DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 3S«) 

asking us to take them away, but it was too late, as the water was 
tlien eiglit feet deep. Finally, the whole top of the house blew 
off and the water was pouringin, and all the people began to pray. 
" The house was twentj^-five feet high, and the waves went 
clean over it. Finally the whole thing fell in, and I grabbed my 
mother around the waist and Smith took my brother, and down 
we went. It was two minutes before we had a raft and were on 
Eighteenth street and O. There were twent3'-eight in the house, 
and all we could save were seven people, as it was so dark that j^ou 
could see no one. We got one little negro by the name of Albert 
of the negro family. We sta3'ed out on the raft all night, without 
a stitch of clothes on, and the rain was something awful. It felt 
like some one was shooting buck shot at us from a distance. 

CAPTURED SOME BLANKETS. 

"About 2 o'clock in the morning we caught two trunks and 
broke them open, and it looked like a god-send to us, as both 
were full of blankets. We took these blankets and covered the 
women and children, or else I believe they would have frozen to 
death. iVbout 5 o'clock in the morning I got up and started in 
search of my father and sister and other two brothers, and the 
first thing I did when I got off the raft was to step on a dead body. 

" I then went a few steps further and found Mrs. A. C. Bell, 
of Eighteenth and. O, and Mrs. Junker, of O, between Sixteenth 
and Seventeenth streets, both dead. We had come from Seven- 
teenth and Beach to Nineteenth and N. Right across the street 
was Mr. Sewall's house, and I went over there to search for the 
rest of m}^ folks and found them there all right, so I went back 
and got ni}^ mother and brother off the debris, and brought them 
all together once more. 

" We have lost everything we owned and can't find a piece of 
the house or a button off any one's clothes, but I still have my 
front door key. My folks are cut up prett}' much, and so am I 
about the feet, but I am going to stay here and try and make Gal- 
veston what it has been. In the house on Seventeenth and O is 
where Mrs. x\rmour and her five children were drowned." 



390 DIED IN EFFORTS TO SAVE OTHERS. 

Another letter says : 

" I, together with maii}^ others, was a passenger on the Hous- 
ton relief train last Tuesday, and among the number there was 
one who should have special mention. This was Miss Lillian 
Bleike. I am informed she is the daughter of W. T. Bleike, a 
travelling salesman. This young lady was at Brenham when the 
news of the storm was reported, and as everything on earth near 
and dear to her was on the doomed island, she embarked upon the 
first train out. 

"Ladies were not permitted upon this train. However, noth- 
ing daunted, she boarded the relief train at Houston, and through 
the kindness of those in charge, was permitted to go. At 
Lamarque, all had to foot it, and also to assist in clearing the 
debris. This, too, she would have done, but was not allowed to do 
so, and, like a good soldier, footed it through mud and slush to 
Virginia Point, boating it to the city, determined to learn the fate 
of the loved and dear ones. I have since learned her family was 
saved, and what a happy reunion this must have been. For pluck 
and courage, the adventures of this young lady stand among 
the few. ' 



CHAPTER XX. 

The Storm's Murderous Fury — People Stunned by the Stag- 
gering Blow — Heroic Measures to Avert Pestilence — 
Thrilling Story of the Ursuline Convent. 

T THILB the story of Galveston's woe can never be told, yettne 
W demand natnrally shonld be that as much shall be told as 
the human mind is capable of telling. The man does not 
live now, and the man never lived who could draw the picture in 
all its horrible details. The greatest of poets sang of the destruc- 
tion of Troy. Tacitus, and later other historians, have told of the 
deeds of the madman Nero. The contests between Marius and 
Sulla have filled pages through all time. The destruction of Pom- 
peii has been vividly described by novelists and historians. 

The French revolution, with its September and August mas- 
sacres, its ravages, and its other fiendish details, have been in the 
hands of Carlyle and a score of French writers ; the Gordon riots 
have been described by Dickens — but never a poet or historian or 
novelist has drawn anything near as shocking a pictu'.e of any 
event in the past as this stern and frightful reality . 

Nearly every event of the past which has shocked humanity 
came about through contests between men. But men tire and men, 
however bitter, at last will abate their anger. In this case it was 
helpless humanity on the one side. In this case it was terrible 
nature in all its fury and strength on the other. There could be 
no appeal for merc}^, because the winds have no ears. There was 
no resistance, because the arms of the waters were those of a giant 
demon. There were appeals, but they were directed above the 
storm. There were struggles, but they were simply those of the 
drowning. Those who survived were incoherent to a great degree. 

The wind shrieked ; it did not whistle as winds do. They all 
igi ee on that. The air was filled with spray, a blinding spray 
wliich affected the nostrils and throat and begat an inordinate 
thirst. It was dark. Yet it was light. They all agree on that. 

391 



392 THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 

Was there a moon ? No one saw it. Yet even late at iiiglit they 
could see the clouds in the sky. The light, they say was a silvery 
one — a sort of sheen — a strange, and yet to all a fearful kind of 
light. Only one person ventured an explanation. She said the 
air was filled with the finest spra}-, and that this was phosphor- 
escent. There is something in this idea. 

HOUSE ROCKED LIKE A CRADLE. 

Did the wind blow straight away or come in gusts ? Here they 
differ again. One man told me that his house rocked as a cradle 
rocked by a mother getting her half-sleeping child to sleep. Dr. 
Fly described how it blew in a way to be understood. He was in 
the Tremont Hotel, a brick structure. He said that while it blew 
hard all the time gusts would come every few seconds and the wind 
took the strong building in its teeth then and shook it like a ter- 
rier would shake a rat. 

There is sitting out on the mainland, not far from Texas Cit}-', 
a dredger which was employed about the wharves at Galveston. 
This vessel is a mile and a half or two miles from the water now. 
One of the men aboard told me that the boat was anchored with a 
steel rope. The Kendall Castle, a large iron steamer, dragged her 
anchor across this steel rope and cut it as a thread. 

" On my word," said the man who told me this, " the moment 
the steel rope was cut the dredger seemed lifted in the air, and it 
appeared scarcely a minute till she was where she is now." 

The vessel had been carried for miles in that short period. 
And there is nothing unreasonable in the stor}^ The wind gauge 
at the office of the Weather Bureau showed eighty-seven miles an 
hour when it went out of business. They believe it blew loo 
miles an hour after that. The people, before their houses fell 
aboui their ears, nailed up their window shutters and doors because 
no door latch and no windowpane ever made could stand the 
strength of the wind. Ever}^ one knew that once the wind entered 
the house, that moment the walls would be blown in every direc- 
tion. No ( r.e fjught against the water. It was the wind they put 
their feeble efforts against. 



THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 393 

It will be remembered that the storm began to become serious 
earl}' in the afternoon, and hence no one had undressed for bed 
when the climax came. The female survivors, or at least those 
who were upon the waters, came out naked. I asked a lady whether 
it was the waves or the flying timbers that did it. She said it was 
the wind. " Why, on the raft with me and my baby was a colored 
woman. The raft seemed to me to be the ceiling of a house because 
it was white. We had to lie as flat on it as we could without 
placing our faces in the water. The colored woman became tired 
and raised in a half-sitting posture. The moment she did it the 
wind stripped her of every stich of clothing." 

CLOTHES TORN TO SHREDS. 

The men, too, were deprived in a great measure of theii 
clothes, but not to the extent of the women. Their clothes were 
torn from them now and then b}^ the wreckage, but nearly all the 
corpses had on some garment. The reason of this was probably 
that the women's apparel was of weaker texture. People ask why 
the people did not move when the storm came from unsafe houses 
to safe houses. The answer is twofold. In the first place, death 
was on them before the}^ realized their danger. The Galveston 
mind had for years been firmly convinced that Galveston Island 
and Galveston houses could weather any storm. 

An illustration of this confidence is in order. A woman who 
lived at one of the numerous corner groceries said the water was 
almost to her neck before she left her place. She waded to the 
house of a near neighbor, where many of the people in the locality 
had assembled, because all thought it a perfectly safe house, as it 
proved itself to be. Here, she said, they chatted and even joked as 
the building rocked in the hands of the storm. When the people 
saw that their lives were in danger, it was then too late to try for 
otlier houses. They remained where the}^ were till the buildings 
either fell and parts were being torn away and they were assured 
that they would soon fall. 

The air was filled with every conceivable missile. Great 
beams and sleepers of houses went through the air like arrows. 



394 THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 

Slates from the roofs hurtled over the heads. One of these would 
have cut off the head of a man as easily as a guillotine. There 
are thousands of mangled and wounded people in the town. One 
poor fellow was picked up alive at Texas City. He was cut in 
fifty places on his body. The tendons of his arms and legs were 
exposed. Others were hacked as if they had been laid down and'; 
scored as cooks score their meats. One-half the dead, perliaps, 
were relieved of their agony through these missiles of the storm. 

CRUSHED BY A PIECE OF TIMBER. 

One poor woman was carrying her child and its head was 
crushed by a piece of timber. It did not even whimper, yet she 
carried the dead infant at her breast for three long hours before it 
was torn from her grasp. When one sees the debris piled twenty 
feet high, in many places on the backbone of the island — that is, 
along Q street, running east and west — and when one sees the 
broad prairies for miles and miles covered with the wreckage that 
came from Galveston across the bay, the wonder with him will be 
that anything out on the waters that fearful night escaped to look, 
not tell, the story of that fearful night. For few can tell it ; all 
look it. 

Something of the strength of the winds and waves can be 
known when it is stated that along the beach at Texas cities I saw 
dead turtles even. Fish floated dead in the bay. They may have 
come from some wrecked fishing smack, and I am inclined to take 
this view of it, but there they were, covering a large space with 
their dead bodies. There were thousands of rats floating about. 
I saw even dead snakes along the shores. The chickens which 
lined the beach along the mainland were entirely denuded of their 
feathers. Not a buzzard or bird was to be seen. Not a mosquito 
was heard. The wind had carried all winged things away. 

Down in some parts of the debris the planks and beams and 
sills of houses had been thrown together with such force that they 
were driven into each other and made as solid a mass as the most 
skilled workmen could join two pieces of timber. The foreman of 
one of the working gangs said it was impossible to romove certain 



THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 395 

portions of the mass except b}^ clipping it away with axes or l)y 
burning it. If such a wind had struck Dallas or any other town 
in the State, it would not have lasted a moment. 

Another thing I have been asked by the people of the interior 
was why the resort to the ocean as a burial ground was had, and 
why burning was afterward resorted to. When day broke after 
that night of horror, the people could not realize the immensity of 
their woe. It required but a short time for them to know it. The 
first on the streets \vere the first greeted by the corpses. 

They fled hither and thither, wringing their hands. Others 
stood still and stared in a dumb wajr. Some cooler citizens sug- 
gested that the bells be rung and the people assembled to grapple 
with the situation. And lo, there was not a bell in town to sound 
the alarm. It was suggested that the steam whistles be blown. 
And lo, there was not a whistle with steam to give it note on all 
the island. Then they went up and down the streets, crying, 
''Fall in, people ; for God's sake, fall in." They got a few people 
together in this way. As they had gone about, more corpses 
appeared. 

THE NUMBER GROWS LARGER. 

What should be done with them ? Strange to say, the sug- 
gestion was made that in \ :iests must be held on the bodies and the 
law complied with. But the corpses began to grow larger in num- 
ber. Inquests now were no 'onger discussed. Those who could 
work began to gather the dead bodies and carry them to the under- 
taker shops. There was confusion, but all were doing their best. 
The purpose now was to place the dead in coffins. But the number 
increased. The idea was abandoned because, simply, it could not 
be done. Seven hundred putrid bodies were piled up in the build- 
ing. Something must be done. 

Then it was suggested that they be taken to the sea. The 
substitute was offered that they be burned. But where burn the 
latter? It could be done on the beach where the debris was, but 
how get there? Every street running across the island to the 
beach was blocked. The substitute suggestion was abandoned. 



396 / THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 

But how get the bodies to the sea ? Then it was that the law was 
laid aside. 

Martial law was declared in fact, whether according to law or 
not. Men armed themselves and went on the streets in posses. 
They captured negro men and forced them to take hold of the 
bodies. Whisky was poured into them —argument was made to 
them. They were nauseated with the work, but more whisky way, 
poured into them. They piled the bodies on floats and drays and 
every kind of vehicle and thus took them to the wharf. 

A GHASTLY SPECTACLE. 

Here they were placed on barges. The poor living creatures, 
wild with liquor, beastialized by it, because they could not have 
done it, embarked with the putrifying cargo. The white men 
retched and vomited. The negroes did the same. Yet more work 
had to be done and now they pleaded for whisky to dull them 
more for their horrible work. It was given them. No man in all 
the world can tell of the horrors of this trip. Those who were noi: 
wild shrunk in agony from it. Those who were mad stumbled 
over the corpses and laid with them in drunken stupor — but be- 
yond the jetties the cargo was tossed into the sea. 

It is cl?im_ed that they were sunk with weights. This may be 
partly true. This disposition of the corpses was found imprac- 
ticable. The work was too slow. The sea would give up its dead. 
As time passed the difficulty of transporting the bodies became 
greater. Then the burning began. The corpses wherever found 
were burned on the spot. If the fire might be dangerous they 
were pulled to an open space. 

Where several were found in close proximity they were placed 
together for the final act. Kerosene was poured over them. Planks, 
lumber, anything combustible were placed upon them and the torch 
applied. The incineration was never complete enough to com- 
pletely destroy the bones. But the flesh, breeding a pestilence, 
was gone. Many were buried. But the graves were only deep 
enough to receive the bloated bodies. The sand was full of water. 
Graves could be dug no deeper than as mentioned. 



THE STORM'S MlJRnF:RC)US KURV. 397 

A shudder will go tlirougli the world when some one propci 13' 
tells of how the beloved ones found their last resting-place. For it 
is horrible to think of disposing of human corpses in this way. 
But what could be done? What else? Nothing — absolutely 
-nothing, except what was done. The dead threatened the living. 
Even if the living had desired to flee from the dead, which they 
did not, they could not have done so — but on an island were the 
living and the dead. There were no vessels to run from the island 
to the mainland. There were no railroads or bridges. The hot 
sun beat down and quickly decomposed the bodies. The bruised 
and maimed could not work. What could be done ? Nothing but 
what was done. 'Twas a sad and horrible thing, but it was charity 
for the dead to do it, and preservation to the living to do it. 

It is utterly nnreasonable for one to think that the people of 
Galveston and the workers in the cause of cleaning can proceed 
rapidly. Not oul}^ is it a task, but it is a task which has condi- 
tions existing which are new to the people engaged in the work, 
and they cannot work with the energy which is their wont. 

FULL LIST CANNOT BE KNOWN. 

As to the dead, as stated before, how the full list will be ever 
known is hard to ssiy. There are places in the city where foi 
blocks and blocks not a house remains, and no one can give an 
instance of having seen a resident of the locality since the fur}^ 
of the storm was spent. Whole families were swept ont to sea, and 
the survivors of the calamit}^ are too busy with their own and the 
work which must be done to remember whom they knew when the 
Island City was in its prime. 

Another point in the matter of the dead is that there were 
man}^ visitors in the city at the time whose names have never been 
reported either in the list of the living or of the dead. Possibl}^ 
few people knew they were here, and in the confusion incident to 
the da3's following the storm those who were cognizant of the 
presence of these visiters have been too busy to think of the 
stranger in the land. 

It is true that a clew to missing people is gained by the in- 



398 THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 

quiries of anxious friends or relatives, and' these queries are 
answered either " dead " or " alive." But remember that in every 
city in the country there are a certain number of people who are 
unknown beyond the limits of their own home. 

In this class also can be included many colored people. Col- 
.ored people always know each other, but it is in mau}^ instances 
that they know nothing of surnames. There are servants whose 
names are not known beyond Mary or Liza or by whatever appel- 
lation the}^ are addressed, and it is possible that a great many of 
these have been lost, increasing the number of dead, but never get- 
ting upon the roll of those who were so suddenly swept away. 

STORY OF URSULINE. 

The Ursuline Convent and Academy, in charge of the Sisters 
of St. Angeli, proved a haven of refuge for nearl3^ looo homeless 
and storm-driven unfortunates. The stories of this one night 
within the convent walls read like the wildest dream of a novelist, 
but the half can never be told. Every man, woman and child 
who was brought to the convent or drifted there on the raging 
torrent could tell of an experience that would be well worth its 
publication. 

The convent, with its many associate buildings, cottages, etc., 
occupies four blocks of ground extending from x'Vvenues,, N to O, 
and Rosenberg avenue to Twenty-seventh street. The grounds 
are, or rather were, surrounded by a ten-foot brick wall that has 
withstood the severest storms in Galveston's history up to the 
destructive hurricane that s^vept the island last Saturday night. 
This wall is now a crumbled mass of brick with the exception of a 
few small portions that stand like marking pillars to show where 
the property line should be. 

No one was refused admittance to the sheltering institution 
on this night of nights. Negroes and whites were taken in without 
question, and the asylum thrown open to all who sought its pro- 
tecting wings. Angels of mercy went through the army of 
sufferers whispering words of cheer, offering what scant clothing 
could be found in this house of charity and calmly admonishing 



THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. m 

the terror-stricken creatures to have faith iu God and say that His 
holy will be done. 

In contrast with this quiet, saintly and loving spirit of the 
nuns, the hundred or more negroes grew wild as the storm raged, 
and shouted and sang in their camp-meeting style until the nerves 
of the other refugees were shattered and a panic seemed imminent. 
It was then that Mother Superioress Joseph rang the chapel bell 
and caused a hush of the pandemonium. When quiet had been 
restored the Mother addressed the negroes and told them that it was 
no time nor place for such scenes ; that if they wanted to pra}^ 
they should do so from their hearts, and that the creator of all 
things would hear their offerings above the roar of the hurricane 
which raged with increased fury as she spoke to the awe-stricken 
assemblage. 

A SOLEMN CEREMONY. 

The negroes listened attentively, and when the saintl}^ woman 
told them that all those who wished to be baptized or resign them- 
selves to God might do so, nearly every one of them asked that 
the sacrament be administered. 

The panic had been precipitated by the falling of the north 
wall or that section of the building in which the negroes had sought 
refuge. Order and silent prayer were brought about by this noble 
woman's sweet determination and great presence of mind. 

Families that had been separated by this merciless and devas- 
tating conflict of the elements were united by the cruel waters of 
the gulf tossing them into this haven of refuge. What scenes, 
what heart-bleeding pictures these unions presented as the half- 
dead, mangled and bruised wretches were rescued and dragged 
from the raging waters by the more fortunate members of their own 
•family, mourned as victims of the storm. 

The academy was to have opened for the fall session on Tues- 
day, and forty-two boarding scholars from all parts of the State had 
arrived at the convent preparatory to resuming their studies on 
that day. The community of nuns comprises forty sisters and 
they, too, were there administering cheer and deeds of merc3^ to the 



400 THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 

sufferers, man}^ of whom were more dead than alive when brought 
into the shelter. Early in the storm when people dragged them- 
selves or swam to the convent and asked for protection an attempt 
was made to keep a register of the unfortunates. 

Their register reached nearly a hundred names and then the 
storm-driven humans began to arrive at the shelter in crowds of 
twenty and thirty. They were taken in through the windows and ^ 
some were dragged through five feet of water into the basement, 
which long since had been abandoned, by ropes from treetops and 
snatched from roofs and other wreckage as it was hurled in the 
maddening torrents through the convent 3i'ards. 

LIVING TO TAKE PLACES OF THE DEAD. 

Within this religious home and in cells of the nuns four babies 
came into this world. Four mothers who had braved, the treacher- 
ous elements and were snatched from the jaws of tragic death la}^ 
on cots in the nuns' cells and four little innocents came into this 
world of sorrow where the world looked the blackest. Truly it 
could not be said that the quartette of precious ones first saw the 
light of day in the cell of a nun on this eventful night. It was the 
darkest and most terrible night in the lives of their mothers, and 
yet the mingled sadness and joy attending the birth of these 
angels was beyond the power of man to describe. 

Mother Joseph, in speaking of the incidents of the night 
within the convent walls, said she believed it was the first time in 
the history of the world that a baby had been born in a nun's cell 
in a convent. And they were christened, for no one expected to 
live to see the light of day, and it was voted that these jewels 
should not leave the world the}- had just entered without baptism. 
Regardless of the religious belief of the parents, a house dedicated 
to God and charit}^ had afforded shelter to the storm-victim moth- 
ers, and they felt in their hearts that the good sisters should ad- 
minister the baptism, which is administered in time of great danger, 
the presence of clergymen not being required. 

The names of the mothers and the children could not be 
learned, with the exception of Mrs. William Henry Heldemau, who 



THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 401 

was one of the mothers, and whose new-born babj^ was christened 
William Henry. The experiences of this mother, if they conld be 
reduced to words, would read like the wildest fiction. Only a chap- 
ter was learned, as told by Mother Joseph. Airs. Heldeman was 
thrown on the mercies of the storm when her home went down 
and n-as swept away. The family had been separated when they-' 
started to abandon their home to the greed of the battling storm. 

When Mrs. Heldeman was carried away on the roof of a 
wrecked cottage she lost all trace of the other nembers of the famil}^, 
but never lost faith and courage. The roof struck some obstruc- 
tion, and the next instant Mrs. Heldeman was hurled from her 
improvised raft and landed in a trunk which was rocked on the 
surging waters. Crampled up in the trunk, the poor woman was 
protected to a limited extent and was afforded much warmth. On 
went the trunk, tossed high on the treacherous sea, bumping 
against driftwood, until the crude bark was hurled against the 
Ursuline Convent walls and was hauled into the building. 

CLEARING THE STREETS. 

The following report of the situation at Galveston bears date 
of September 17th : The work of clearing the streets of debris 
and wreckage is progressing steadily and with systematic rapidit3^ 
The military authorities have gradually perfected the sj'stem and 
divided the labors so that there is comparatively no interrupt :on or 
delay in the gigantic undertaking. 

To-day the reports filed at General Scurr3^'s headquarters up 
to 9 o'clock to-night reported the recovery and disposition of but 
fort^^-five bodies. A reporter, who made the rounds of about 
twenty gangs in charge of removing debris, noted the finding of 
130 bodies of men, women and children and this report is known 
to be incomplete for the day's work. 

City Health Ofiicer Wilkinson stated that he estimated that 
40 per cent, of the debris of every description had been removed, 
from the streets ; that 95 per cent, of the dead bodies had been dis- 
posed of, and that 95 per cent, of the carcasses of animals had been 
removed from the city. But as the work of removing debris goes 
26 



402 THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 

on more bodies are being uneartlied every hour. There is still an 
immense amount of work to be done in this respect and in some 
quartei's hardly an impression has been made in the mountains of 
wreckage piled up fifteen and twenty feet high. 

Still the gruesome work of recovering the dead from the gigan- 
tic mass of debris that lines the south side of what remains of the 
city goes on. Yesterday 107 bodies were recovered and cremated. 
Among them was a mother with a baby tightly clasped to hei- 
breast. As the body of the mother was moved the body of the 
baby rolled off. In this imperative necessity of the dispatch of the 
dead tragic scenes are witnessed that move the stoutest hearts. 

THE INDESCRIBABLE SUNDAY SERVICES. 

The body of Major W. T. Levy, United States Immigrant 
Agent of this district, was among the number. He made a gallani 
struggle to save his wife and three children. All were lost, and the 
bodies of the wife and children have not been recovered. They are 
still among the uninterred dead, and when found wall be disposed 
of as the father and husband has been. 

What pen can describe the religious service on Sunday? Houses 
of worship ruined, congregations scattered and in despair, yet all 
those who survived gathered in impromptu temples and in sorrow 
and grief prayed for loved ones gone, and in humble thanksgiving 
offered up their hearts for their own preservation. The scene at 
the little chapel iu St. Mary's University was pitiful in the extreme, 
the Sacred Heart Church l3ang in ruins, the Jesuit fathers threw 
open their private chapel to those who formerly worshipped in this 
once magnificent church. Within this meagre little chapel none 
could for a moment lose sight of what now existed here ; many of 
those who received the communion from the priests' hands know 
no home other than this same building; children came to this 
sacrifice of the mass bare-footed and hatless, even their expressions 
showed the awe struck feeling which shrouded all. 

At the low mass no sermon was preached, no word spoken, all 
prayer was in silence, nothing but the words of the mass was 
heard, as each heart poured forth in feeling deejD and still their 



THE STORM'S MURDI^ROUS FURY. 403 

tlianksgiviug. The environments tliere each told the sad, sad 
story. On the lower floor of this chapel were the destitnte waiting 
for the food supply to be given them, this in itself the saddest 
picture the miseries of life can sketch. On the same floor with 
the chapel are the priests' rooms, now the hospital wards, every- 
where the sick being tended by skillful hands, looked wistfully at 
the passer-by. Thus in this one corner of the university, the 
whole effect of the tragedy is enacted ; the hungry, the homeless, 
the ill, and above all these earthly miseries, the kneeling before 
the throne of God in submission and prayer. 

A GLORIOUS RECORD. 

There has yet to come to light any tale of brutality ; those 
who spent the night of the storm battling the waves never wit- 
nessed a selfish act ; this in itself is a glorious record to hallow the 
event. Man after man secure in his own house, hearing the cry 
for help plunged out in the fury to rescue the helpless ones ; often- 
times this was attended with loss of life to the rescuer. There 
was no question of kin or color that awful night, the ties of a com- 
mon sorrow united all, and not only was man with his intellect and 
strength the courageous ouca ; children who could have been rescued 
would not be taken from their loving ones, and as for the mothers 
who sought death with their little ones such tales as these are as 
manifold as the waves of the sea. 

Nor were the humbler animals forgotten, many instances are 
known where men w^ading waist deep in water holding their wives 
and children above the water, found hands somewhere for the 
household dog. One 3^oung lady, a society girl, when forced to 
abandon her home gave no thought to silken finery and jewels, 
but waded in water nearly to her shoulders holding fast in her 
■arms a large sized skj^-terrier. Nor was this devotion only from 
*4ian to animal, it was equal if only all were known. 

One dog, we call him " Hero," as there is none to tell us other- 
wise, is truly a hero worthy the Legion of Honor. This four-footed 
hero is a small-sized New^foimdland, and in the storm he was cast 
adrift on Seventh and Broadway, with his master, an old gentleman 



404 THE S'lORM'o MURDEROUS FURY. 

about seventy years of age. Around Hero's neck is a stout black 
collar ; to this the old gentleman clung. Hero did the rest, he 
swam pulling along his old master from Seventh to Fourteenth 
streets, where they found a house standing with veranda piled with 
debris but intact, and into a sheltered corner of this the dog 
dragged the man for safet}-. Both were alive, the old gentleman 
was much bruised, but his mind was active, and his onl}^ grief 
was for the loss of his wife and daughter, for save the dog he had 
no one. 

A DOG'S DEVOTION. 

Kind hands did for him all that could be done, and while 
feeble and heart-broken he appeared to suffer no pain. The dog 
never left him there, the two throughout that fateful Sunday clung 
together. Toward 3 o'clock in the afternoon the old man, still sit- 
ting in a rocking-chair, covered in blankets, no dry bed being avail- 
able, appeared drowsy. This was only natural from fatigue and 
age, but when the head gently bent forward it was the sleep of 
death. However, such a gentle passing away of the soul could not 
be termed by such a harsh name ; it was more a caress, in whicl 
the transition of the soul was wafted from the body. 

The dog all these hours had nestled close to the old man's feet 
under the blanket, never sleeping, but guarding carefully the 
master. When the feet became cold, then the four-footed hero 
scented trouble. He tried to lie on them with his bod3^ This not 
answering, he licked the cold feet ; still no warmth. Then he 
sprang into the rocking-chair in which the corpse sat, carefully 
covered in sheets, tried to warm the body by covering it as much 
as possible with his own shaggy hair. By force the dog had to be 
taken away and locked up, for in his instinct he scented something 
wrong with the old man and strove to make things right by supph'- 
ing the warmth of his own bod}^ Such scenes as this old man's 
beautiful death and the dog's deep devotion are among the sublime 
lessons. 

Photographers are hourly taking views of the ruins. How- 
ever, there is a picture about the debris which demands a sketch to 



THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 405 

itself. The Sacred Heart Church before the storm had in the right 
aisle, near the altar, erected to the mother of Christ, a large cruci- 
fix affixed to a pillar. Now all the sides of this church are demol- 
ished save where this crucifix in this pillar stands and the crucifix 
untouched. It is a sight not to be forgotten to see this image 
of the Man of Sorrows looking down upon the ruin everywhere. 

THE WORST EXPERIENCES. 

Naturally one would say that the living through the experi- 
ence of the storm was the worst part of the catastrophe, but those 
who had their families here but were themselves away affirm that 
the suspense and anxiety they underwent to learn the fate of their 
loved ones could not have been worse. Mr. Frank Gresham shows 
this. He was at Cornell College when the news that Galveston 
had been swept off the earth reached him. At first these reports 
seemed exaggeration, but when the truth becaiue known the Gal- 
vestonian became panic-stricken. Mr. Gresham tried to commu- 
nicate with his family, but as no word was received, his fears grew 
worse. 

Deeming it not a time for thinking, but action, he came south 
immediately. En route he said the fast trains which make no stops 
would wait two or three hours for Galveston people, and trains 
having passengers for this city had the right of way over all lines. 
The sight of this panic-stricken crowd, eager to reach home or hear 
of friends and family was pitiful indeed. 

At St. Louis one lady, already in heavy mourning, was greeted 
with a telegram saying her entire family had been washed away, 
and thus it was all along the road. Several ladies personally 
known to Mr. Gresham were on the train, but all were in tears from 
nervousness and anxiety. Words of recognition were hardly 
exchanged ; it was a case where the heart was too full for 
utterance. 

Two Galvestonians were on the Mallory steamer from New 
\urk which came in Saturday, after having been abroad since June. 
The news of Galveston's disaster did not reach the boat till they 
touched Key West. Up to this time all was joy on board, but 



406 THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 

when the news was received the vessel seemed to drag until this 
port could be reached. The passengers tried to wire from Key 
West to some' one in Houston for information, but were greeted 
with the information that there were thousands ahead of them and 
no ivord could be received. 

THE RESPONSE FOR RELIEF. 

Thus the suspense had to be borne till the pilot reached the 
boat, and at this junction only the confirmation of their worst fears 
were realized. Only the passengers who were Galvestonians, all 
of whom agreed to work upon their arrival, were allowed to come 
in; the others were sent to Texas City, from which place they 
reached their various homes. The papers show how letters, tele- 
grams and cables are daily coming in by thousands; also how the 
whole world has responded to the cry for help. Even the actors in 
New York, Philadelphia and all the large cities gave performances 
for the benefit of the sufferers. 

One lady writes to a newspaper as follows : '' While so many 
deeds of heroism shown during this late storm are being told I 
deem it one of my greatest privileges to be able to mention the 
names of Mr. Clark Fisher, Mr. Sam Robertson and Mr. Clarence 
Auglen, who, by their daring and courage, so heroically saved my 
family of six ladies with their large raft on East Avenue I, during 
the fiercest part of the storm. We had drifted with our house 
until it had become dismembered and then were thrown upon the 
mercy of the waves and strong current. These young gentlemen 
all cleverly proved by their coolness and bravery what was in 
them.'- 

Another lady writes : " September 8, at about 4 o'clock, things 
began to be alarming at my place, at Seventeenth and O, and 
houses were leaving before that. I hoped my little home was an 
ark. It proved to be until the water began to pour wildly into the 
windows. I and an old man named Inco, who rented a rear roonr 
from me, got over the stair-casing and climbed until our heads 
were ,?t the ceiling. He said to me : ' We die here together ; good 
bye.' 



THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 407 

" At the same moment the house separated. I climbed over 
the door through the transom and on to the roof, thence from one 
timber to another, always keeping to the top. A dog always kept 
by me and caused me a great struggle. It was about Twentieth 
street and 0}4 that something hit my head, which seemed either 
,^o give me courage or ease. I remember laying my head down on 
the raft and felt indifferent. 

"About 4 o'clock the next morning I rejoiced to see where the 
gulf and island separated. I was resting not extremely uncom- 
fortable at the top of drifts of a two-story house at Twenty-fifth 
and beach. Some Italians came along, looked unconcernedly at 
me. The}^ were hunting someone and went on. I still halloed 
until I heard Mr. Beekman, who, with assistance, took me to a 
house. They could find nothing to cover me, but gave me whisky. 

" Then came Mr. Womack, who left nothing undone to make 
me safe. He carried me over lumber on a board, with blanket and 
pillows, to his rooming house. From there I was taken to the 
Sealy Hospital, with the two blankets and pillows." 

THE AWFUL STORY. 

The following from the columns of a well-known journal has 
a mournful interest : 

*'In Galveston there is mourning; in the city by the sea 
there is sobbing and tears. When the young of us have grown 
old, when they, in their turn, are grand'thers, when a century of 
years has drifted past as sea-wreck drifts will the legend of Gal- 
veston be told and retold again, and white-faced children, clinging 
to the granddames' robes, will listen to the story of how the storm- 
god came in rage, and how the gulf, beaten by his thong, rushed 
in and did his bidding. They will hear the awful story that will 
never die, the tale of how the tempest and the tide slew men as 
pestilence slays ; slew praying women and prattling babes as 
Herod slew the boy-children twenty centuries ago ; will hear of 
how the sea, that once calmed at the Maker's word, made war on 
the orphan's home, as if he who said 'Suffer little children to come 
unto me,' had repented of his bargain. 



408 THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 

" Men strive for the art of remembering — lo, now we beg that 
some great magician may teach lis how to forget. To forget the hor- 
ror of it all ; and the sobbing and the praj^ers. To forget the wail .of 
the mother bereft of her young, and women's prayers that came echo- 
ing back from the flint}^ sky. To forget the death struggles of the 
legion of the dead, and the cries of ' Mamma! Mamma!' as the 
screaming little ones were sucked into the throat of the tide. To 
forget that the sweet-voiced nuns bound the charity orphans 
together in lots and committed them to the care of God — to forget 
that the reaper came with the storm in his heart and the salt spray 
in his beard aud gathered them by sheaves. Do not talk of conso 
lation — there is none. Try to forget. Muffle your clamoring 
church bells — their noisy songs blend illy with the screams of 
despairing mothers beating their breasts and calling to their dead. 
To-day your praj^ers are useless, and the solemn organ's mellow 
tide can be freighted only with a requiem for the lost. O, for the 
sadness of it all ; and the sobbing and the tears ; for the cries of 
women and the thunder of the tide ; for the shouting of men and 
the burials in the sea. 

LABORERS' HEROIC WORK 

Under date of the iSth the condition of the city was stated to 
be as follows : 

Slowly but surely the streets are assuming a decent appearance, 
and in a few days all evidence of the storm on the streets of the 
business district will have been removed. A large force of men 
are working systematicall}^, and the beneficial result is shown in 
every quarter. The greatest amount of wreckage is piled high 
along the beach and for several blocks inland, where hundreds of 
homes fell victims to the rush of waters and devastating hurricane 
that swept that portion of the city bare. The amount of debris in 
the district extending from the extreme eastern end of the island to 
^the western, city limits, and even beyond that point, is incalcula1)le, 
and the manner in which the storm packed this long ridge of 
wreckage challenges the heroic efforts of the army of laborers 
cugaged in its removal. 



THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 40? 

But great progress has been made and is being made. The 
work cannot be described in words, even as the devastation wrought 
by the awful storm defies description. One must visit the scene 
and note the progress of the work in order to gain an intelligent 
idea of what it was and what is being done. 
i 

MORE VICTIMS EVERY HOUR. 

As the force of wreckers make inroads into the mountains of 
debris the bodies of more victims are unearthed every hour. And 
the end is not yet. A most conservative estimate of the dead and 
missing is enough to prove that the vTeckage yet undisturbed will 
reveal several hundred more dead who perished in the storm. 
There is no doubt that at least 200 or 300, perhaps man3,^ more,' 
bodies were carried to sea, and that the number of bodies recovered 
and to be recovered and accounted for will fall short of the actual 
number of creatures who were hurled into eternity while the storm 
raged. 

The record kept shows that ninety-eight bodies were reported 
as having been dug from the ruins yesterday. But it is known 
that this record is not a complete list of the bodies found and dis- 
posed of. For the first three days after the storm bodies were 
found by the score and disposed of by the parties finding them. 
Some of these persons kept a sort of record. Others, acting upon 
the impulse of the moment and what the}- deemed their duty, 
stopped in their search along the beach to bury the poor unfortu- 
nates whom they found in and about the ruins and debris. 

Several important orders were issued from military headquar- 
ters, Brigadier-General Scurry commanding. The most important, 
perhaps, to the general public was an order which decrees that heroic 
measures are necessary for the preservation of the health of the 
communit3^ It is ordered that all persons occupying houses within 
one block of debris which is presumed to contain dead bodies will 
have to vacate the premises temporarily. 

This step has been taken by the military authorities in charge 
of the city after deliberate consideration and consultation with the 
Board of Health and the general committee charged with looking 



410 THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 

after the general welfare of the citizens. Camps will be estab- 
lished and comfortable quarters provided for all those who will be 
subjected to this ruling, and ample notice will be served upon the 
tenants of such houses. It is not compulsory that all such persons 
must accept tent accommodations, as it will be discretionary with 
them to move into some other house or other premises away from 
the forbidden district. 

ADVISED TO LEAVE THE CITY. 

In this regard it may be well to call attention to the advice 
given early in the present military regime that all those who can 
leave the city should do so ; especially does this appl}^ to women 
and children. A month away from the scenes of the calamity 
would prove beneficial to their general health, and would greatly 
aid in facilitating the work of cleaning the city and putting it in a 
thorough sanitary condition. A man who knows his family is en- 
joying good health away from Galveston can do better work at 
home under existing conditions. Should any of his family be 
taken sick here at home, he would necessarily be compelled to give 
them his time and attention, and this would greatly interfere with 
the progress of the good work so laudably commenced. 

Another important order issued was one which establishes a 
cattle corral, where idle cattle and horses will be cared for and fed 
and used in public service if the emergency requires. There are 
a large number of unclaimed and strayed stock running at large 
about the city. A number of cows have been picked up by people 
who out of compassion for the suffering beasts fed and cared for 
them. Several cases have been reported where families leaving 
the city after the storm turned their stock and horses loose on the 
streets, or, strictl}^ speaking, who in their haste to leave the city, 
failed to collect their stock which had strayed away during the 
storm. 

The \vork under the direction of the Health Department is 
pushed with vigor. All the departments are working systematic- 
ally and doing all that is possible under the circumstances. As 
fast as disinfectants arrive they are being distributed over the city, 



THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 411 

and large quantities are arriving daily. Over a carload were taken 
from the wharves yesterday and sent to the Health Department's 
supply depot, and almost as much was taken from that place and 
distributed over the city. As fast as it can be done the city is be- 
ing placed in a thoroughly sanitary condition. Much was done, 
yesterday in the way of removing debris and disposing of animal 
remains. 

The sick and wounded are receiving the best of treatment, and 
the facilities are such now that any one needing medical treatment 
can. have it by letting the fact be known. Besides the other hos- 
pitals and medical relief stations alreadj'- in service, the marine 
hospital and refugee camp was opened ' up yesterday afternoon and 
is in shape to care for a large number of patients. A number o{ 
those able to travel have been taken from the hospitals and sent in 
the revenue cutter and'by other means of transportation to Hous- 
ton and other relief stations on the mainland. In all the outlook 
from a health standpoint is very encouraging. 

ANXIOUS ABOUT THE CITY'S HEALTH. 

The Auxiliary Board of Health met at the usual time and 
place on the i8th with almost all the Board present. President 
Wilkinson called the meeting to order, and after it had been de- 
cided to waive the regular order of business and dispense with the 
reading of the minutes and the reports from the committees, Dr. 
Trueheart offered the following resolution and moved that it be 
adopted : 

" Be it resolved by the Board of Health and the Auxiliary 
Health Board of the city of Galveston, General Thomas Scurry in 
command, concurring, that the surgeon in charge of each and every 
hospital, permanent or temporary, and all camps and one and all of 
the medical relief stations for the care of the sick and wounded within 
the corporate limits, are hereby instructed and empoweped to proceed 
without delay to thoroughly cleanse, disinfect and place in as pcr- 
fec-t sanitary condition as practicable their respective hospitals, sta- 
tions or camps and the prem-ises thereof for the care of the wounded 
and sick, and they are hereby authorized to send in requisitions to 



412 THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. 

the proper department for such disinfections, etc., as ma}' be re 
quired, and empowered to secure the services, by impressment or 
otherwise, of such labor, implements or vehicles as may be found 
necessary to fully carry out this order. This is to be done without 
delay." 

The resolution was adopted and arrangements were made to 
carry it into immediate effect. 

RESTORATION OF GALVESTON. 

An intelligent and well-posted citizen, writing to the leading 
journal of the city, expressed the following sentiments : 

''The restoration of Galveston is a question which does not 
alone interest the people of the stricken city, but all Texas as well. 
The discussion now going on is not confined to Galveston, but 
is on the lips of every public-spirited citizen of the State. The 
preponderance of opinion among the people of the interior is that 
the city will be rebuilt or restored upon a scale of magnificence and 
vStability far superior to anything it has ever known. There are 
some, however, who express the opinion that it would be worse 
than a waste of energy, enterprise and money to do so, for the 
reason that it is liable to be swept away at any time. This opinion 
is fallacious in the extreme. 

"We are not prepared to give precise historical data in sup- 
port of the assertion, but crossing the limits of the circle in which 
only exact information is contained, and invading the circle in 
which conclusions are onlj^ reached by a system of reasoning, it 
can be quite confidently asserted that the island of Galveston has 
been standing since the waters of the flood receded from the earth, 
and quite likelj^ from the foundation of the world, and though it 
has been swept by a thousand storms, tossed by a thousand tidal 
waves and deluged a thousand times by rains, it still stands 
securely where the Almighty Creator placed it a million and per- 
haps a billion 3'ears ago. 

" To successfully maintain the assertion that the island will 
be ultimately swept away, it is necessary, first, to prove the asser- 
tion that the storm, or tidal wave, that will do the work will be a 



THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. llg 

thousand times more furious than an}^ the world has heretofore 
known. Any attempt to support either proposition is absurd. It 
is admitted, however, that the assertion that the island has been 
standing since the flood, or is a part of the original creation, is a 
theory, and worth no more than any other theory started from a 
proper predicate, but Galveston island has been known for more 
':han 400 years, and has a fairly well-authenticated history since 
1542. In 1 54 1 De Soto is said to have landed on the Texas coast 
near the island, established a base of operations and penetrated the 
interior as far as the present site of the town of San Marcos. 

" After his death a part of his exploring force settled on Gal- 
veston island in 1542, and constructed some kind of fortifications 
to protect themselves from the Indians and Spanish pirates or free- 
booters. This was 358 years ago. This undisputed historical fact 
proves beyond question that the Spanish pirates and the American 
Indians were acquainted with the island before De Soto's men 
established themselves. Just how long is not known, but a knowl- 
edge of the island strip may be contemporaneous with the exist- 
ence of the aborigines of America that were here during the ex- 
plorations of the Norsemen, who made several voyages in the ninth 
century, 1000 years ago. In 1585, while La Salle was cruising 
around in the Gulf of Mexico, he mentions having lost a man in 
the Malign (Brazos) River, and it is therefore very probable that 
he touched at Galveston island. 

A MATTER OF HISTORY. 

"In 1 7 15, Governor Caspan'o Awaya established the Orquis- 
aco mission on Galveston bay and made a thorough exploration of 
the island. In 18 16 the Mexican envoy to the United States, 
General Herrera, and Commodore Ansy took formal possession of 
Galveston island in the name of the Mexican republic, and from 
that time until now the history of the island is a connected, well- 
authenticated story, and as much is known of its climate, soil, 
products, temperature, rainfall, wind storms, etc., as any part of 
Texas. At that time the island was much lo\irer than now, much 
of it a mere marsh, entirely unprotected by improvements, and a 



414 THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURV. 

tliousand times more liable to be swept by storms than now, and 
still it stood, and still stands. 

" When Commodore Ansy abandoned the island, Lafitte snc- 
ceeded him in possession and held it nntil 182 1. Lafitte's descrip- 
tion of its topography agrees with Commodore Ansy's in ever}^ 
essential, and both state much of the area was marshy and low- 
lying, and unfit for settlement. Is there any man who will assert 
that during the past eighty-eight years the altitude and stability 
of the island has not been constantly improved or increased ? If 
such is the case, and truth forbids its denial, the conclusion is 
unavoidable that Galveston island may be crossed by howling 
tornadoes ever}- week, but it is just as secure as any part of Texas 
from destruction. 

MANY DESTRUCTIVE AGENCIES. 

" In the excitement and for the moment men forget that there 
is au}^ other element or power, except water, that destroy towns, 
when in fact the cities of the interior have suffered more destruc- 
tion from cyclones and storms than all the towns on the Texas 
coast from Sabine Pass to Brazos Santiago. Fort Worth is as liable 
to destruction as Galveston. In fact insecure residences in every 
section of the country is a harvest for fires, floods or cyclones, as 
was demonstrated in Chicago, Boston, New York, 'Cisco, Sherman, 
Piano and scores of cities and towns in texas as well as other states 
during the past decade. 

" In the present deplorable disaster in Galveston the lament- 
able loss of life was brought abou^ , not from its hazardous or in- 
secure location, but largely on account of the unstable character of 
the buildings. True, some fine structures were demolished, but 
niich was also the case in Brenham, Hempstead, Houston and 
Alvin. In Brenham 100 houses were blown to pieces ; of these 
..I half dozen were substantial!}' built. Bye-witnesses state that 
about the same proportions hold good in Galveston and about the 
same conditions prevail. 

" Nearl}' every island city on earth, in its earl}' life, has suf- 
fered just as Galveston has suffered. People attracted b}' business 



THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURV. 415 

opportunities would rush iu, and rush up cheap, insecure and tem- 
porary residences, only to be devoured by the flame or swept from 
the earth by the first blast. New York, Liverpool, Kdiiiburg and 
other coast cities suffered in this way, and learned lessons from 
such sad experiences that made them prosperous, stable and great. 
So will Galveston. 

" Many who passed through the recent storm will leave, but 
commerce knows no such thing as an insurmountable obstacle. 
The commerce of the West demands the port ; Galveston will be 
rebuilt, by new people largely, seeking and embracing the business 
opportunities offered. Lots will be staked out, houses more sul)- 
stantial in structure erected. The whole Atlantic Ocean might roll 
over New York and it would roll off again, leaving the city un- 
scathed. Manhattan island originally was no more secure than 
Galveston island, and Galveston island in time will be rendered just 
as safe as Manhattan is to-day." 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Unparalleled Bombardment of Waves — Wonderful Courage 

Shown by the Survivors — Letter From 

Clara Barton. 

A VISITOR to Galveston thus gives his impressions on the 
•** 1 2th da}^ after the great flood : 

" For two days after the great catastrophe, the people of the 
city of Galveston were stunned. They seem to be dazed. It is a 
remarkable thing that there were no signs of outward grief in the 
way of tears and groans to mark the misery that raged in the 
breasts of the people. Only when some person who was thought 
to have been dead, appeared to a relative living who had mourned 
for him or her, were there au}^ tears. There was a callousness 
about all this that attracted the attention of those who had j list 
come to the unfortunate place. There was a stoicism in it. But 
it was unexplainable. It indicated no lack of appreciation of 
what had occurred. 

" It demonstrated no lack of afiection for those who had gone. 
Nature, generous in this instance, came to their relief in a wa}^ 
and made them dull to the seriousness of what had occurred, to 
an extent which prevented them from becoming maniacs. For, 
if the grief which comes to a mortal when he loses a dead one, 
had come to this whole community, the island would have been 
filled with raving maniacs. In case of individual losses, there is 
always some one near to give consolation. Had the grief came 
to the whole island, there could have been no consolation, for 
every soul on it had lost in some way that which was dear to it. 

" 'The case is just like the afterthoughts of those who have 
participated in a great battle,' said an old soldier to me. 'If a 
popular man was lost on the picket line, there were tears for him, 
but when the time came for all to be mowed down, the horror of 
it dulled the sensibilities of those who survived.' 

" I was talking to an estimable and bright woman on the* 

41G 



WONDr:RFUL COURAGE OK SURVIVORS. 417 

subject. Slie had lost members of her family, though uot imme- 
diate oues. She said to me : ' I study myself aud am overcome 
at myself I kuow what has happened. I know the losses. I 
have lost some of the members of my family, though they are 
not blood kin. I have lost the dearest friends of my life. And 
yet I have not shed a tear. My eyes are hot. I would give au}?'- 
thing to cr}', but it looks as if the fountains were dried. I am 
asha;med of my seeming indifference to this horrible thing and 
the loss of those who were so dear to me. But I cannot cr}'. I 
know that I suffer, but it looks so cruel to sit here with dry eyes 
and without any other evidence of the deep sorrow that fills my 
bosom.' 

' I talked to one man and asked him how many people he 
had lost. He had saved his daughter and her child. All the 
rest, amounting to three souls, were gone. But the}- were dr3^ 
He spoke in a low voice, but it did not tremble. He was ago- 
nized — I saw that — but his mind was unable to grasp the true 
meaning of his loss, and when he had finished he asked if I had 
a match about me. 

THE SAME BELL. 

" Up to Thursday night there had been no sleep in .he city. 
True, exhausted nature had thrown men and women and children 
on their beds and they had closed their eyes and the physical 
strain had been to some degree relieved, but the mental strain 
was still at the breaking point. One man said that on Thursda}^ 
morning he was awakened by the convent bell summoning the 
living to mass. It was the same bell that had rung or tinkled in 
the tone since the day of the storm. 

'' He bounded from his bed a new man. He was hopeless the 
da}^ before. He had seriously thought of abandoning his house, 
which he believed bej^ond repair, but when he looked at it on 
Thursday morning it did not look so badly. He resolved to fight 
it out. He went and found others like himself— resolved to fight 
it out. 

"Thursday night's sleep made the people a new people. 
27 



418 WONDKRP^UL COURAGE OF SURVIVORS. 

The difterence in their look and deportment from that of the day 
before was observed by everyone. The streets were filled with 
them, when on the day before the streets were silent of all except 
those who had the horrible work of taking care of the dead on 
their shoulders. Now women could be seen talking to women. 
They met on the corners in the residence portion of the town and 
told their adventures. The men began to discuss the future. 
By lo o'clock the town wa?s up and buoyant. The effect of that 
one night's sleep was marvelous. There was no longer any talk 
of abandoning the town. Galveston should be greater than Gal- 
veston hpd ever been. That was on the lips of everyon<" 

GALVESTON SAFER THAN EVER. 

" On Frida}^ I would not have given $io for the place. On 
Thursda}^ I would have given more for a lot than I would 
have given before the deluge and storm. Why ? Because the 
pluck of the people came out through that night of rest Galveston 
should be greater than it had ever been. That is what they said. 
Galveston was safer than before by the island's weathering such 
a storm. That is what they said, too. They began to talk of 
their own pluck. We have stood so much, but the world will 
say that we stood it well. If we can do as we have done in such 
a trial, what can not we do in the battle of life ? Galveston shall 
be rebuilt. 

"Galveston shall be the greatest of towns. Hurrah for Gal- 
veston ! Thus they talked and went about their work of throw- 
ing up breastworks against disease by cleaning the town. Thou- 
sands of the people, negroes as well as whites, went about the 
work of burning the dead and cleaning away the debris. They 
asked nothing about wages, even those who had no property 
The}^ had begun the fight. It was evident that they intended to 
keep it up. The cold, calculating speculator would have had 
something to stud}^ over if he had seen these people as I 
saw them the day after their one night's rest. Well, there wa^ 
nothing wild in their determination. The island has not a break 
in it. 



\\'c)Ni)i:kFL;i. couRAcr; ni- suR\i\'()i<s. 419 

"There is a story of luillious of feet being torn from it and cast 
into tlie sea. This story may be trne if applied to some part of 
the island which I did not visit. But where I went it is not true. 
There was erosion. That was to be expected. Erosion would 
have come from a far less storm than this. I have seen a com- 
mon "rise" on the Ohio River carr}^ away more dirt than this 
storm carried from Galveston Island into the Gulf. The people 
of the interior know where the old Beach Hotel stood. 

" They know where the chimney of that house was built. 
They know how far it was from the beach. They will understand 
the work of erosion. I stated that the brick of that chimney is 
not in the water. The piling on which the hotel was built are in 
some places in the water. In fact, according to ni}^ observation, 
the erosion at this point has not been above 300 feet. I went to 
the east end of the town and to the west end of it. The destruc- 
tion of the island is no greater an3'where that I saw than at the 
the location of the hotel mentioned. 

PREDICTIONS OF DISASTER. 

'For years and years people have said that when the right 
kind of storm came the island would sink under it or be washed 
away like a house of cards in a flood. It was supposed that the 
great currents which would rush across the island would dig 
bayous as deep as the bay. These would grow in width, and 
finally the great island would be cut into small ones, if it did not 
disappear beneath the waves. But the result of this greatest 
storm on record ? Wh}^, there is not, as far as I could hear, and 
I made inquiries, a single excavation made from the Gulf to the 
bay or the bay to the Gulf. The island stands there in all things, 
except in the matter of the erosion mentioned, as stable and firm 
as it has ever been since man knew it. That is enough. The 
foundation is there. Man can do most any thing with a proper 
foundation. 

"The only need now is stable and the right kind of houses. 
The old houses seem to have stood the shock better than the new 
ones. The reason of this is appaicnt. The old ones were built 



420 WONDERFUL COURAGK OF SURVIVORS. 

witli an eye to storms. The new ones were bnilt in book timeR= 

One yonng fellow told me that his house, the one in which he was 

born, had stood the storm of 1875 and every storm since that time 

without a quiver. 

' ' And it would have stood this one had it not been for one 

thing,' he said. ' That thing was the outward flow of the tide 

when the storm was over. The water rushed back to the sea like 

a torrent. It fell over a foot and a half in fifteen minutes, and as 

it went out it swept many a house from its foundations.' This 

flow, running like a torrent, swept across the island, and yet there 

was not left a single evidence in the way of excav'^.tions of itr 

going. 

"FOUNDED ON A ROCK." 

" Attention was attracted to the house of Mr. J. H. Hawle}^, tUe 
brother of Congressman Hawley. He bought the property from 
an engineer who lived in Galveston some time about the flood of 
'96. He said he would build him a house which would stand. He 
placed the foundations on an iron fence two feet in the ground. 
This foundation was of brick. In this foundation he placed the 
railing of the iron fence running up three feet. At the top he 
placed filagree brick work. His house was braced well and the 
timbers were heavy and well piit together. The storm did not 
phase it. 

"The fence acted as a barrier to timbers from the houses which 
had been destroyed. It kept away the battering rams with which 
the waves assaulted all places. When the night's horrors were 
at an end the house stood intact. Even the cistern, which was on 
piling, stood the test and was uninjured. Now the Galveston 
people begin to consider the question of whether much was not 
their fault in that their structures were not of the kind that should 
have been built, when storms were sure to come. 

'' It is just such things as this that give them hope. As I have 
said, I despaired of the town when I walked among the dead bod- 
ies and saw the destruction on every side. But like the rest I got 
over this depression. I caught the infection of the new life when 
it came. I know that I speak the truth when I say that the life 



WONDERFUL COURAGE OF SURVIVORS. 421 

ill Galveston now is capable of npbnilding the town, and building 
it better in ever}^ way than it ever was. Millions of dollars are 
invested in enterprises in the town. The men who have lost thou- 
sands, not to say millions, will not permit the rest to go without a 
struggle. 

" The railroads running into the place and depending on the 
thirty feet of deep water, which is said now to exist in the 
channel, for export of the freight, will not agree to abandon the 
port, the only one of such depth for thousands of miles. Cotton 
factors in all the world, who look to this port for their supplies, 
will not abandon it. The monetary interest in the city of itself 
would save it even if the people were not so full of heart as they 
are. But above this, the poor people and the working classes 
have no where else to go. With many of them, it is too late in 
life to begin it anew. It is too late for them to build up acquaint- 
ances again. They have lost their houses, but the lots on which 
the houses were located are there. 

EXTRAORDINARY PUBLIC CHARITY. 

" Subscriptions to the amount of perhaps $2,000,000 have 
poured in for their relief. The well-to-do Galvestonian is deter- 
mined that this relief shall go to those who are poor, that they 
may to some extent repair their fortunes. The rich themselves 
will build. In a month from now every man in the place will 
have all the labor he can perform. Every person will be busy. 
The work of up-building will in some measure rub out the recol- 
lection of the horrors of the storm. The Huntington estate will 
continue its work. Bridges of the very first class will span the 
waters between the island and the mainland. If great corpora- 
tions can risk their money, as they are determined to do, why 
shall not a poor man risk his labor to build another house on the 
lot he owned? 

" Why, even behind the business and necessitous phases of the 
matter, there rises a sentiment among the people. That sentiment 
is that we will show the world the stuff that Galveston people are 
made of. Galveston is all right. The storm could not kill her, 



422 WONDERFUL COURAGP: OF SURVIVORS. 

though it wounded her to the death almost. There is pluck there. 
There is pride there. There is mouey there. And, above all, 
chere are recollections there for the Galvestonian, and he will not 
be downed by wind and wave. Mark that. " 

Galveston, Tex., Sept. i8. — It would be somewhat difficult 
just now to give an answer to the question : " What is new in the 
situation at Galveston?" The situation has resolved itself into 
a routine of hard and systematic work which presents no features 
of special or startling interest, and which will, in the end, have 
the effect of showing what a stricken people can accomplish in the 
fare of a fearful calamity if they go about their work iu the proper 
manner. 

Generally speaking, conditions are improved at every point. 
The various committees continue to carry out the tasks they have 
in hand, and on all sides progress which would not have been 
thought possible is being made. Business concerns are resum 
ing business or making every possible effort toward that end. 
Wherever possible, buildings are being repaired, at least to an 
extent which will protect their contents from the elements. Roofs 
are being replaced with temporary shields against the wind and 
rain, panes of glass are being placed in the frames which were 
destroyed by the storm, and stores are being cleaned out and the 
damaged goods they contain exposed to the sun and wind in order 
to dry them and thus minimize the damage done. 

RAIN ADDS TO THE SUFFERING. 

Early this morning there was a sharp shower of rain — the 
first since the storm — which, while it lasted but a few minutes, 
showed how absolutely necessary it is to get the buildings of the 
town in something like their normal condition as soon as possible. 
In the Tremont Hotel, the roof over a part of which is the office, 
came in in many places — through parts of the roof itself, through 
the broken skylight and through the empty window panes. Out 
in the residence portion of the town the rainfall undoubtedly 
caused at least a great amount of discomfort, for hundreds of 
houses which were not absolutely uninhabitable during the prev- 



WONDERFUL COURAGE OF SURVIVORS. 42a 

alence of fair weather were drenched and delnged, and the weary 
and heartsick people they sheltered were rendered all the more 
miserable. 

It must be understood in this connection that while the work 
of repairing and making proof against the elements the building 
of the city is a very important feature of the situation, the mat- 
ter of cleaning up the debris and disposing of the dead bodies 
therein is paramount on account of the danger which might result 
to the public health were this work not done as rapidly as 
possible. 

Right here it should be said that, all reports to the contrary 
notwithstanding, there is at present practically no likelihood wliat- 
ever that anything like an epidemic will result from the presence 
of decomposing bodies and the deposits made by the water during 
the storm. This is perhaps a broad statement, but it is one which 
backed by all of the eminent medical authorities of the city, who 
are certainly in a position to know if any one is. 

DISINFECTING THE CITY. 

Satisfactory progress is being made in the work of removing 
the offending matter, and a large amount of disinfectants of various 
sorts is being used where it will do the most good. The fear of 
an epidemic is one which has probably caused a great deal of 
uneasiness among the people who have friends and relatives still 
in the city, but from the standpoint of a layman, who has formed 
his opinion largely from investigation and from physicians who 
are interested in the work of caring for the health of the city, it 
may be stated, without any reservations whatever that the possi- 
bility of the prevalence in the future of any malignant disease is 
very remote indeed. Those interested may well set their fears on 
this score at rest. 

The progress that has been made in securing a correct list of 
the dead is something wonderful, considering all the circum- 
stances. Debris is being removed in all parts of the town and 
many more bodies were burned to-day. There are places here, 
however, which the workers have been unable lo reach. Unless 



424 WONDERFUL COURAGE OF SURVIVORS. 

he goes into tlie mass of debris lie cau not imagine a condition 
equal to that whicli exists. There are places where the wreckage 
is piled so high and is in such an entangled mass that the workers 
will have great difficulty in getting it cleared away. There 
are some places where timber enough is stacked in a confused 
heap which is of quantity sufficient to stock a good-sized lumber 
3^ard. Houses have been torn limb from limb, as it were, and 
from beneath the unexplored depths of these places more bodies 
will be found. 

Dr. J. Wilkes O'Neill, of Philadelphia, Secretary of the 
Associate Society of the Red Cross, received a letter from Pres- 
ident Clara Barton, dated Galveston, September 19, in which she 
says : 

CLARA BARTON'S LETTER. 

' The conditions here are as much as 3'ou will gather from 
what you have read. Like some other fields that we have visited, 
it does not admit of exaggeration. One can scarcely imagine how 
it could have been worse, and 3'et one sees the city full of people 
left alive ; but when we think of the hundreds, and it may be even 
thousands, lying buried and decaying in great heaps of debris 
stretched for miles along the edge of what was once a town, it is 
hard to conjecture anything worse. 

"Supplies are coming in from all sides. Of course, disin- 
fectants were the first thought, to protect the living against the 
dead. All that can be done by the purification of fire is being 
done, the p\n-es of human sacrifice are burning day and night. I 
have never had au}^ fears of an epidemic. We have in all our 
experience, you will remember, never known an epidemic to follow 
a flood. There will, I believe, be no pestilence here. 

"There is a portion of the town containing business houses, 
which, while being terribly damaged, stood upright, and stores 
with their valuable contents were entirely submerged. The streets 
a:e filled with elegant goods, dr3dng off, and it will be most rea- 
sonable charity to buy these of the merchants at the prices puton 
them — which are scarcely half — in preference to using first those 
that are sent, until these dealers are relieved in a measure. 



VV0NDP:RFIJL courage of survivors. 425 

"Every accommodation Avliicli the city can afford was placed 
at our disposal. A large ware-liouse is being fitted to-day ready 
to receive the carloads of goods on the way. Every official, from 
the highest to the least, calls to know what the Red Cross needs, 
and how it can be served. The grateful confidence with which 
they approach us, or even speak the name, makes one humble, 
filled \vith the fear that we will fail to justify the fullness of the 
confidence and hope that is offered. 

" There seems to be an unusually large number of children 
with no one to care for them or who knows them. There are five 
or six hundred of these, it is stated, gathered in the houses of the 
poor, overburdened with their own wants, and yet cannot see 
another child suffer. We will help them as far as possible, gather 
them in, and the world will give them homes. It requires great 
calamities to show how generous and great are the hearts of the 
people of the land. 

GUARDING AGAINST FUTURE DESTRUCTION. 

■ This city will be built up again, probably finer than before 
— and it was a fine city always — but I hope never without a pro- 
tection from the storms. It is criminal to allow people perfectly 
unsuspecting to settle themselves and live on territory, however 
beautiful, that is morally certain at some evil moment of destruc- 
tion. If Galveston is worth the possession that it is and has been 
to our country, it is worth its protection ; therefore we shall see 
that it shall not fail to implore of the government that it give 
work to its men and security to its inhabitants by a sea wall, 
which shall render it almost safe." 

On September 20tli we find this tragic recital : 
"The storm has claimed another victim, and another soul 
that passed through that night of nights has gone to its reward. 
In chronicling the death of Miss Clara Olsen, another pathetic 
chapter is added to the thrilling tale of horrors which will never 
be told in its entirety. Miss Olsen, who was a graduate of the 
Ursuline Academy, and a most estimable young lady, lived with 
h'ir aged mother on Twenty-seventh street, near the Ursuline 



126 WONDERFUL COURAGE OF SURVIVORS. 

Convent. When the storm rose to its height, and their humble 
home succumbed to the destructive elements, mother and daughter 
were thrown out into the surging waters. 

"With one hand firmly grasping her mother, the young lady 
bravely struggled against the wind and sea. At last the branches 
of a large tree were sighted above the raging torrent, and mother 
find daughter exerted their fast failing energies to reach the 
luring tree top. As the two weary creatures neared the haven, 
the daughter reached with one hand to grab a swaying branch. 
She missed it and was carried backward by the wind. Another 
attempt and she secured a hold, but her mother had been torn 
from her embrace by the sea, and was swept to her death beneath 
the waters. 

LODGED IN A LARGE OAK. 

"In the early hours of the morning a rescuing party found 
the almost lifeless form of the young lady resting in the tangled 
branches of the large oak. She was carried to the home of 
friends and recovered from the shock. But the thoughts of her 
mother's tragic death, and the strange feeling that she was 
responsible for it, weighed heavil}^ on her heart and mind. The 
haunted thoughts racked her brain and slowly undermined her 
failing health until the end came, when the broken-hearted and 
weary spirit responded to death's sweet sleep. 'Mother's in 
heaven and I'll soon be with her,' were the last words whispered 
by the girl." 

The work of clearing the streets and the city in general pro- 
gresses with surprising rapidity and systematic thoroughness. 
Street after street is being cleared up and the wreckage being 
stacked away. In accordance with an order from military head- 
quarters, a new plan has been inaugurated in removing debris. 
Instead of removing the debris and throwing it to one side to 
remove the dead, it is ordered that the ridge of wreckage along 
the beach be separated into two piles. The first pile removed is 
.to be stacked out near the beach, where it can be fired and con 
sumed. The bodies found are to be disposed of on pyres placed 



WONDERFUL COURAGE OF SURVIVORS. 42V 

at convenient intervals between the two piles of debri-"^ Tlie 
second pile will be fired separately. 

Military law has had a wonderful effect in placing the opera- 
tions of all classes of work under one head, and the work of this 
general headquarters has won the highest commendation from 
the good citizens. Every ward has its supervisor, who reports 
daily all work done in his respective ward, files comp' unts, 
makes suggestions, and, in fact, keeps the general headquaiters 
informed on all matters pertaining to the management of his 
district. 

The ward supervisor has in charge a number of foremen, 
who in turn are in charge of gangs of workmen numbering from 
ten to twenty men. General Scurry holds the ward chairmen 
responsible for their districts, and the chairmen hold their fore 
men accountable for the actions of their gangs of laborers. 
Every department and branch of public service is under control 
of Brigadier General Scurry, who is ably assisted by Adjutant 
General McCaleb, Assistant Adjutant Reid and a score or more 
of efficient clerks and stenographers. At headquarters is a busy 
place. There all complaints, all reports, all requisitions and all 
operations of the military force of over 200 soldiers are filed and 
made note of. 

FLOOD OF TELEGRAMS. 

Every class of work has its corps of officers and clerks and 
every communicationor recordis carefully filed in the proper place. 
Hundreds of telegraphic messages are received and answered every 
day. Orders are promulgated and duplicate copies distributed 
around the city and a thousand and one matters must be 
attended to and all of them require prompt action and attention. 

General McCaleb, who is in touch with the pulse of the com- 
munity by reason of his office and who is familiar with the detailed 
operations of the military department, stated that Galveston was 
recovering amazingly from the calamit}^, and that it could be stated 
as a fact that in three or four days the city will have resumed 
normal conditions. 



4'2H WONDERFUL COURAGE OF SURVIVORS. 

" This department has accomplished a great deal, and to the 
several hundred men who have devoted their time and attention 
to the city's welfare too much credit cannot be given," said he. 
" It is astonishing to note the spirit of the people of Galveston 
and the manner in which they go about the work of restoring the 
city. We have had no serious trouble either in having to impress 
men into service or in keeping the lawless element under control. 
Considering the condition of affairs, the city has been unusually 
orderly and very few arrests have been made of a serious nature. 
I have tried but five cases since the establishment of martial law, 
an." that tells the stor}^ of how the law is being respected." 

A MARVEL OF BRIDGE BUILDING. 

The construction of the bridge across Galveston bay has been 
a marv^.l of hustling, and the dispatch with which it has been 
done reflects the indomitable energj^, good judgment and skill of 
the men who had it in charge. The work M^as not started on the 
bridge until Thursda}^ of last week, because the material could 
not be gotten to the place, but -when it was started Vice President 
Barr and General Superintendent Nixon said : "We will run 
trains into Galveston next Thursda3^" Not many people expected 
that they could make good the promise, and almost everybody 
said they would be satisfied if the trains came within a fortnight. 
But the men who directed the work said that trains would cross 
on Thursda}^, and they stuck to it. 

No work was ever beset by such difficulties as the work of 
restoring the tracks on the island and the mainland and the build- 
ing of the bridge. The men on the track had to bury dead 
humans and animals, strewn by the hundreds over the prairies. 
They toiled in mud and water under a blazing sun. They had to 
remove hundreds of wrecked cars and twisted and tangled steel 
rails. They worked in the stench of dead flesh and the horrible 
odor of rotting grain and other wreckage. The}^ built the track 
over a wreck-strewn prairie torn by the angry sea. It was diffi- 
cult to get supplies to them and difficult also to get material. 

The men who rebuilt the bridge worked the first day without 



WONDERFUL COURAGE OF SURVIVORS. 429 

dinner. It was difficnlt to get boats light euongli in draft to bring 
provisions or materials or pile drivers to Virginia Point. When 
the boarding camp was pitched it stood in a new made cemetery, 
where hnndreds of victims of the storm lay nnidentified, 
unshronded and nncoffined. 

For the first fonr days after construction was commenced, 
the bridge timbers were rafted down Highland bayou and West 
bay, a distance of seven miles, to Virginia Point. When the 
track on the mainland had been restored to Virginia Point, the 
delivery of material by rail began. The storm swept away most 
of the pile drivers around Galveston. One marine driver was 
sent out and put to work on Sunday closing the gaps aggregating 
about looo feet of trestlework, where the piling had been carried 
awa}^ The next day another marine driver was sent out, and 
Assistant Engineer Boschke, of the Southern Pacific, built two 
skid drivers and sent them out to the work. 

GETTING THE TRACKS READY. 

When a reporter was at the island end of the bridge, ctt 9.30 
o'clock yesterday morning, the Santa Fe track at the island had 
just been completed. The s;:eel laying gang on the bridge was 
about a mile from shore, with the stringer gangs about half that 
distance away. The caps were laid up all the way to the shore. 
The Santa Fe has some pretty rough tracks for a short dis- 
tance this side of the bridge, but the track through the west 
yards is in good condition and in fair condition the rest of the 
way in. 

The Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad completed 
its island track to a connection Avith the Santa Fe at the bridge 
yesterday forenoon, and the Southern Pacific folks expected to 
complete their track last night. The Southern Pacific track is in 
very good condition. It has been lebuilt under the direction of 
Mr. E. K. Nichols, the agent of the company at this point. 
Nearly all the material used was gathered up from the prairie, 
some of ^t having been washed several hundred feet awa3\ The 
N.vork was delayed by a large number of wrecked cars. There 



•iaO WONDERFUL COURAC.K OI- SURVIVORS. 

was uo wrecking outfit to be liad in the city, and it was necessai'}^ 
to remove the wreckage by slow processes. 

The Southern Pacific had about 200 cars in its west yard 
loaded with grain, cotton and merchandise. The yard was ter- 
ribly swept and msmy of the cars wrecked, some of them being 
washed nearly a quarter of a mile away. The new double-track 
railroad of the Southern Pacific, near the bay shore, was torn to 
pieces. 

Bradstreet's weeklj^ report commented on the great calamity 
as follows : 

"Galveston was flooded by one of the tropical storms which 
from time to time vex the southern coast, and as the result of its 
ravages, thousands of people have been killed, many more have 
been made homeless, and the city has been reduced to a condition 
which has led some people of a pessimistic turn to despair of its 
future. Views of this kind, however, do not take sufficient 
account of the energy of the American people or of the efforts 
which will be put forth to save to the commerce of the world one 
of its great ports. 

SUPERIOR TO THE CALAMITY. 

" It may take some time for Galveston to recover from the 
shock and the horror of its late visitation, the most destructive in 
its effects that has darkened the annals of the United States, but 
the pride and energy of its people may be counted upon to rise 
superior to even this calamity. Meanwhile the spirit of helpful- 
ness and charity that has made the people of the United States 
:onspicuous among those of all the world may be counted upon to 
aid in healing the wounds made by this signal disaster, so that, 
before long, after the succor most immediately and imperatively 
flemanded has been furnished, the great Gulf port may be once 
more rebuilt and made to contribute as it has done in the past to 
the extension of the trade of the country, for whose commerce it 
has furnished a conspicuous outlet. Earnestly desirous of con- 
tributing to sucli a result, Bradstreet's will be glad to forward to 
tlie proper relief committees any subscriptions which its readers 



WONDERFUL COURAC.K OK SURVIVORS. 481 

may deem proper to confide to it for the aid of the distressed cit}' 

and its inhabitants." 

St. Mary's Infirmary was the refuge where over a thousand 

of lives were saved from a cruel death, which the terrible storm 

seemed so anxious to administer, and if it had not almost ceased 

to be at a premium on account of so many displays of that most 

noble virtue, the heroism displayed at and around that institution 

that afternoon and night would be something remarkable. Men 

worked with five boats all of that afternnon, never tiring in their 

heroic efforts in bringing women and children from their frriil 

dwellings to this haven of safet}^, and when these poor frightened 

people arrived the}'- were still heroically dealt with b}' the Sisters 

of Charit3\ 

ONSLAUGHTS OF THE STORM. 

Of all those who took refuge there only two lost their lives, 
and those were in an outbuilding where some fifty-two had taken 
refuge. While the main building, where most of the people were, 
shook and trembled under the awful onslaughts made on it by the 
wind and water, and although the water kept coming up into that 
building until it stood three and a half feet deep on the lower 
floor, the building stood the shock bravely and not a life was lost 
in it. 

Only those who were there and heard the terrible noises that 
the wind and water made in their mission of destruction, and only 
those who felt the building tremble and saw the houses around 
the place torn down and washed awa}^, can realize the fearfulness 
of that evening and night. But during it all the Sisters were 
tliere, forgetting their own personal danger in quieting the fears 
of those who had come to them for refuge. It was indeed a hard- 
ened man that did not tliere that night ask his Creator for pro' 
tection. 

It was early in the afternoon that the refugees began to come. 
The}^ came first from the flats east of the building, which is lower 
than the ground around and to the west of the Infirmaiy, the 
water rising there first. Then, as the storm kept increasing and 
the water rising, they began to come from the houses all around. 



4:i2 WONDERFUL COUR/Uif: :)i SUR\'lVOKS. 

They waded iu first, but it was not long before it was too deep and 
turbulent for that. It was then boatloads began to arrive, and 
it was in this way that the boats were brought there which after- 
ward were the means by which so many others were saved. 

No sooner would a cargo of precious lives be left at the 
door than the boat would be snatched away by ready hands and 
taken out to pick up another load. This was continued all the 
afternoon and up until it became so daik the men could not see 
which way to go after they had procured a load of frightened 
people. At first it was a comparatively easy thing to push the 
boats about and collect people, but along in the afternoon the wind 
had so increased and the water became so agitated that it was witb 
the greatest danger this was done. 

THE MEN STUCK TO THEIR WORK. 

Notwithstanding this great danger and the hard task of hand- 
ling the boats, the men stuck to it manfully. Not once did they 
stop for even a breathing spell. They realized the terrible danger 
that was before those who had not found a stable refuge, and stood 
to the work heroically. Many times were the boats almost 
swamped, and many times did the occupants and those who were 
pushing come within an ace of drowning, but looking death in 
the face and defying the wind and waters to do their worst, they 
kept at their mission of salvation until blinded by the darkness. 
Even before they made their last loads houses were beginning to 
go down, maiming and drowning their inmates. 

After the men had shown the heroism born in them, it w^as 
the turn of the women to show their mettle, and they did it, ever}^ 
one of them. The Sisters forgot the great danger of instant death 
and went about comforting and trying to ease the fears of the 
many who had come to their institution seeking safety. But even 
they shuddered with fear when they saw the house formerly occu- 
pied by the patients from the Santa Fe road, go down, burying the 
refugees whom they knew to be in the building, go down, not onto 
the ground, but into a boiling, seething mass of water — that water 
vv^hich seemed to vie with the wind in its destruction. 



WONDERFUL COURAGE OF SURVIVORS. 4.53 

Then when the water kept rising and the wind increasing in 
v^elocity, until it seemed that nothing could stand before it, it was, 
indeed, a time to be afraid. This condition continued for several 
hours, which seemed days to those whose hope was in its abate- 
ment, until about midnight the waters began to subside and the 
wind to decrease in velocity. 

It was not until between 3 and 4 o'clock in the morning, how- 
ever, that the water had gone down enough to allow any one to 
venture out. When the water had receded enough for one to go 
outside, it was found that the Santa Fe wing of the hospital, which 
was a frame building, was a mass of wreckage and had washed 
jver against the rear of the Infirmary building proper. Knowing 
that there were refugees in the building when it went down, there 
was fear for their safety. 

IMPRISONED IN THE WRECKAGE. 

At once men began a search and found the frightened and 
maimed refugees imprisoned down among the wreckage. The work 
of getting them out was begun. All were found to be alive except 
two, a child and a crippled woman named Mary Sweeny. Although 
the survivors were alive, they were horribly cut up and wounded, 
which was proof of the terrible night they had spent and of their 
awfnl experience. 

Then daylight came to present a picture such as none had 
ever seen and none ever cares again to cast his eyes upon. The 
clean sweep of the waters and their horrible destruction was in 
full view, and to add to the awfulness of the picture, the water 
had left several bodies of its victims at the door of the Infirmary. 
The people then left, not to go to their homes, but to go to where 
their homes had been. Many returned on account of having no 
place to go, and for days stopped at the Infirmary, their wants 
being administered to by the good Sisters. Since then, that insti- 
tution has been, as well as a hospital where the injured have been 
attended to, a house of refuge where those made destitute and 
Ijomeless by the storm have stayed. 

Martial law, which had been declared, was suspended at the 
28 



434 WONDERPUL COURAGE OF SURVl\'ORS. 

earliest moment consistent with the peace and safety of the city, 
as will be seen b}^ the following : 

" Headqnarters Cf&ce, Galveston, Texas, September 20. — 
Hon. Walter C. Jones, Mayor of Galveston, Texas — Sir : " I have 
the honor to report that, in my opinion, the conditions npon which 
you based your proclamation declaring martial law in Galveston, 
have rapidly changed. Order has been restored, the energies of 
the city have been directed into the proper channels, and the 
moment is opportune for a return to civil processes. 

" I would respectfully ask that you prepare to resume the 
functions of civil government within twentj^-four hours. 

" Such troops of the Texas volunteer guard as may be neces- 
sar}^ will be retained here while needed to aid the civil authorities 
.n maintaining order. Very respectfull}^, your obedient servant, 
"Thomas S. Scurry, 
" Brig. Gen. Commanding Cit}^ Forces." 

CITY GOVERNMENT THE SAME. 

ixs far as the general public is concerned, there is to be no 
radical change in the general government of the city. The 
change means a shifting of the powers that govern from the mili- 
tary to the civil process, but the good work inaugurated and 
expedited under the able and efficient direction of General Scurry 
will be continued and hastened to an early completion. General 
Scurry and his military command will remain in the city, and 
will be continued in service for police and guard duty as hereto- 
fore, except that they will act under the direction of the civil 
authorities. 

The resumption of civil control of the affairs of the city will 
remove the bars to traffic into and out of the city so far as good 
citizens are concerned, but certain restrictions will be maintained 
to keep out persons not wanted in this community. With the 
military force and the increased police department and sheriffs 
department there will be enough men to guard all the gateways to 
the city and patrol the streets of the city. 

Mayor Jones and General Scurry desire it to be clearly under- 



WONDKRFUL CCUIRACK OK SURVIVORS. 485 

stood that the lawless element will be shown no quarter. Mayor 
Jones has instructed General Scnrr}^ that he wants law and order 
maintained at an}^ cost and that the niilitar3^ command shall be 
backed in their work. 

From to-day noon it will not be necessar^^ forpersons desiring 
to leave the city to secure passes, nor will it be necessar^^ for per- 
sons desiring to come to Galveston to secure passports. However, all 
gatewaj^s will be guarded and suspicious characters will be subject 
to scrutiu}^ and examination before being allowed to enter the 
cit3\ 

The sporting element, including gamblers and others of the 
sporting fraternity, will not be allowed to come to Galveston, and 
if found here their immediate deportation will follow their convic- 
tion. Drunkenness will not be tolerated and all arrests upon this 
charge will be prosecuted to the severest extent of the law. On 
this score Mayor Jones and General Scurry are most emphatic 
and thej^ seek to impress the people most firmly in this regard. 

SALOONS CANNOT OPEN. 

" I want it distinctly understood that the suspension of martial 
law does not mean that the saloons may open up," said Mayor 
Jones 3^esterda3^ " I desire 'The News' to announce that the 
saloons must remain closed until further orders and that no back 
or side door business will be permitted. The saloons were not 
closed under martial law, but were closed by my order before 
martial law was proclaimed. The proclamation closing them, 
therefore, holds good and will not be revoked until I am satisfied 
that it can be done with safet3^ Although martial law will be 
raised to-morrow. General Scurry is going to remain with me and 
, assist me as he has so admirably done during the past ten days." 

The citizens of Galveston were not in a position to look after 
the affairs of the city government under the circumstances. It was a 
public calamity that befell the cit3^ and every citizen had his burden 
of sorrow to beaii-There is no gainsaying the fact that the estab- 
lishment of martial law was the best course to be pursued under 
existing circumstances and the beneficial results are plainly niani- 



436 WONDERFUL COP RAGE OF SURVIVORS. 

fest on every liaud. Public spirited citizens volunteered their 
services and men who held back were proniptl}'- impressed into 
public service for their own as well as the good of every person 
living in Galveston. 

Organization of this vast arm}^ of workers was perfected, 
departments were instituted to conduct the different classes of labor, 
and under strict militar}^ discipline order was restored. The 
clearing of the streets, burial of the dead, caring forthe living and 
providing for the restoration of the city was commenced in earnest 
under militar}^ supervision and urged to most flattering success. 
There are few who regret the institution of martial law, but 
there are mau}^ who would deplore the removal of the military 
forces. 

General Scurry, who has won the commendation and heart- 
felt thanks of this communit}^, is a man of few words. He says 
he tried to do his duty and he is glad that the people of Galveston 
appreciate the fact. He sa3^s he was never treated more kindly 
and he feels that the citizens were alive to the fact that what he 
did was for their own good and the good of Galveston 

PLACE AND ORDER OUT OF CHAOS. 

Mayor Jones stated to a " News " reporter 3/esterda3' that tne 
people of Galveston are obligated to General Scurr}^ for the wa}' 
he has conducted the affairs of the city in this hour of peril. He 
has brought peace and order out of chaos and with a remarkable 
displa}^ of executive ability he has brought sunshine from dark- 
ness and gloom. Without the slightest friction, without disturb- 
ance of any consequence, and without aid or advice from anyone, 
he has wrought wonders and restored the city to normal con- 
ditions. 

As the work ®f removing the debris progresses more dead are 
found buried beneath the ruins. There are no official records at 
hand of the bodies found, and it is probable that the record will 
never be completed. It is known that there are man^Moodies found 
and disposed of b}^ volunteer parties who fail^l^o nmke a detailed 
report of the work. It is also known that there were many dead 



WONDERFUL COURAGE OF SURVIVORS. 437 

vSwept to sea and to mainland. Only those found on the island 
and on Pelican are accounted for. Even those on the main- 
land were not recorded. Some of them were from Galveston and 
some were from that section. 

Several hundred of these bodies were disposed of by relief 
parties coming into Galveston on the first relief trains which 
came near the bay shore after the storm. The trains could not 
get to the bridge nor to Virginia Point, and the relief parties put 
in their time burying the dead. No record was kept of this 
work. 

It is not known how many bodies are still in the ruins. It is 
known that there are many dead buried beneath the debris yet 
undisturbed. There is absolutely no way of estimating with any 
degree of accuracy how many unfortunates remain in their death 
prisons beneath the mountains of wreckage yet to be released. 
It is believed by some that many surprises await the removal of 
all the wreckage. 

LAST TRAIN OVER THE BRIDGE. 

Mr. J. T. Grimes, of near Brandon, has a fine farm and is a 
substantial and reliable citizen highly esteemed and respected. 
He was in Galveston during the hurricane and related a remark- 
able experience. He said : 

"I left here Friday and got there Saturday evening. The 
storm was on when we got _there. Our train was the last that 
went over the bridge before it went down. The water was then 
rising rapidly and nearly over the tracks. The conductor asked 
if any one had ever seen it that high before. Nobody had. A 
carload of cattle that followed us on the bridge went down with 
the bridge." 

" How came you to go to Galveston ? " asked the reporter. 

Mr. Grimes hesitated, as if considering, then said : ''Well, 
sir, it was this way : I was sitting on the gallery with a baby in 
my arms — the child of that man standing there, whose wife cooks 
for me. Suddenly it was just like some one came to me and told 
me to go to Galveston. It came so powerfully I sprang up and 



438 WONDERFUL COURAGE OF SURVIVORS. 

handed the baby to its mother and told her I must go, and ordered 
my clothes prepared for the trip. In two hours I was on the way." 

"Did you have any idea what you were summoned to Gal- 
veston for?" 

"No ; only I knew there was some disaster threatening my 
children. I did not know what it was, but I could not refrain 
from going." 

Asked further about the trip to Galveston, he said the pas- 
sengers got into the depot, but he never saw or heard of any of 
the train crew, and he thought they all must have perished. "I 
got a negro to show me the way to where my daughter, Mrs. 
Chilton, lived. The water was then all over the city and rising 
rapidly. When we got to Eighth street, my son-in-law here, 
Stufflebram, called out to me across the street. He had seen and 
recognized me. I went over and we started on. There was a lot 
of timber and driftwood floating, and some people along the way 
were pulling all of it in the houses they could get. 

HOUSE WASHED TO FRAGMENTS. 

" We had to push it apart to get through in places, and some 
of them laughed and said push it to them, and I did so, and they 
began hauling it in. Nobody thought how serious it was, but 
looked on it as merely high water. A little later all those build- 
ings along there were destroyed and all the people there drowned. 
Stufflebram had taken his wife up to Chilton's and Clarkson also, 
because it was a litle higher ground there. We finally reached 
it, on Twenty-second street, just opposite Harmony Hall. We 
were all in the house together when Prof. Smith sent word over 
from Harmony Hall that we had better get out at once. 

"We went to the hall, and the last of the party had hardly 
cleared the sidewalk when a large brick building gave way and 
mashed Chilton's house to fragments. We staid in Harmony 
Hall until the cyclone ceased, though it looked once as if the hall 
would go when the roof blew off. It was the awfulest time I ever 
saw. My daughters and their families were saved, and I am 
truly lhai>kful for it. They said at Galveston that we were the 



WONDERFUL COURAGE OF SURVIVORS. 439 

only famil}^ in the city who all got away alive. It must have 
been providential. 

"We left there Thursday and went to Houston, where we were 
nicely treated. I never saw such charitable people and I just 
love Houston. Charity was a mile high there. They fed us and 
clothed our children and paid our fare to Hillsboro. The rail- 
roads, too, were nice, and did all and more for us than one could 
expect. I never saw or heard of such a time as we experienced 
at Galveston. Nobody can tell it as it was. It is impossible. 
For two days we didn't think of eating. The dead people float- 
ing, the ruins all about us, destroyed all sense of hunger. It 
wasn't the water that killed, death seemed to be in the atmos- 
phere, there was so much electricity and such furious winds. It 
is awful, even to think of." 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Galveston Storm Stories — Fierce Battles With Surging 

Waves — Vivid Accounts from Fortunate 

Survivors — A City of Sorrow. 

A RESIDENT of the strickeu city gave the fonowing graphic 
^*- narrative of his experiences, which help to make up the dark 
picture of Galveston's agony and desolation : 

"Some people asked, ' How did j^ou feel when your house 
went down in the storm ? ' It is a question easier asked than 
answered. I was among the few who lost their houses early in 
the storm and before darkness set in. Up to fifteen minutes or 
less before the house went down I had hopes that it might survive 
the storm. For three hours before it went I watched the waters 
patiently, mostl}^ from the south windows, but of course had 
the restlessness natural to people who are waiting for a great 
crisis in the lives of themselves or those dear to them. To sit 
perfectly still under the circumstances was impossible. 

"A few moment's rest by a south window was followed by 
an uncontrollable desire to go to some other part of the house 
to see how matters were looking. Wandering from one point to 
another, the round of the house was made, and once more I found 
myself back of the south windows to watch the waters from the 
main danger point. I do not think that I or any of my family could 
have been called excited. There was a restless, uneasy feeling 
among us all, but actually no fear. When my wife left the house 
she fully expected to return to it when the storm was over. My 
bo3^s were with her and my little girl, and for probably half an 
hour I was alone. 

"During that time I was partly engaged in keeping the north 
and east doors closed. The wind blew them open several times, 
but did not break the hinges. When one was blown open torrents 
of rain poured in, and I rememl)cr thinking of the task the 
women would have in drying tlie floors and disposing of articles 

MO 



(}AL\^KSTON STORM STORIES. 44-1 

tliat had suffered from the water. From this it can be judged 
that even at that time I was not looking for a total wreck. How 
did I feel ? I was not excited. I was not in fear of nn^ life. It 
seemed to me that what I regretted was the propert}^ loss and the 
struggle I \vould have to repair damages. 

" But a total loss — a sweeping away of everything I had in 
tlie world — was not thought of. In fact, it is hard to realize now, 
a week after the storm. The mind cannot rest all the time on 
one's loss, and at times it seems when I want something at my 
house all I have to do is to go out and get it. My good wife last night 
caught herself the same M'ay. Speaking of the need of a shirt for 
Sunday, she asked : ' What do 3^ou want to buy a shirt for, when 
you have three or four — oh, I forgot ; they were lost in the storm.' 
We have been housed safely, and it has seemed more like a visit 
than a total loss of property to her, except when she has felt the 
need of something that was carried away in the storm. 

THE OLD FAMILY BIBLE. 

• As time passes and we begin to realize that all is gone, 
there is a desire to find something, even if it is of no value, when 
the wreckage is cleared away. My wife expressed the wish that 
the family Bible might be found, be it ever so dirty and torn. It 
contained records that could be nowhere else secured, and if a new 
one is purchased and the records again written, it must be entirely 
from memory. 

" But though we lost all, we were among those families 
where no life was sacrificed in the storm, and in that respect Avere 
more fortunate than some of our neighbors and many of our 
friends. The number of broken families in Galveston seems 
innumerable. As one walks the streets he meets friends of whom 
he had never thought, and the first greeting is 'Did you save all 
your famil}^ ? ' An afiirmative answer brings out the remark, 
'You are lucky ; many have lost not only all their worldl}^ goods 
but their families.' " 

" In many instances the reply is that your friend has saved 
liis family but has lost his other relatives. It seems that there is 



442 CxALVESTON STORM STORIES. 

scarcely an individual in tlie city who lias net lost some relative. 
Where the loss is not positive it is believed to have occurred, 
because no nev/s of the supposed dead ones has been received. 

^' Tales of rescues and narrow escapes continue to come to 
light, biit to record them all would require the work of hours in 
writing up and fill the paper full to the brim with this class of/ 
matter alone. 

" The stores and groceries are again getting down to business, 
but they are badly handicapped by damaged stock, more especially 
the dry goods and clothing stores. A complete overhauling of 
these establishments has been necessary and the separation and 
sorting out and drying of damaged goods is not yet complete. 
Those which have fully opened for business are crowded with cus- 
tomers, and in some instances it is still necessary to keep the 
crowds out, letting in only a few customers at a time. 

HARD WORKED CLERKS. 

" The clerks are a hard worked set of people just at the pres- 
ent time. With the changes in overhauling the stock they have 
not yet become acquainted with the exact location of articles 
called for, and it requires a search to find them. This naturally 
retards the quick execution of business, and throws additional 
labor on those waiting on the customers. But order is rapidly 
being evoked out of the chaos existing after the storm, and in 
the course of time things will be moving along with their old-time 
uniformity. 

" The street forces have got fairly to work on the business 
streets, and they are rapidly assuming a more passable condition. 
Drays are hauling away the trash, and in the course of a week or 
so the worst evidence of the storm will be removed. The damaged 
buildings will take longer to repair, but the streets will present 
more of the old-time aspect than for the past week. 

"Work on the pile of wreckage back from the beach is pro- 
gressing, and now and then one hears of bodies taken from the 
ruins, clearly showing that the full extent of the loss of life has 
not yet been realized. 



GALVESTON ^TORM STORIES. 443 

" In tliis storm tlie usual conditions have been reversed. 
WHereas, in wrecks by wind, water or rail, first reports greatly 
magnify tbe loss of life, while in the present case it seems that 
the estimate of lives lost is increasing rather than diminishing as 
each day passes. While the total will never be known, it will be 
far above the early estimates. 

" The relief system is fairly in operation, and it is now claimed 
that no one need go liungry except able-bodied men who refuse to 
labor. But it should be understood that those desiring relief 
should go to the different ward headquarters, or send some one. 
The committees and heads of departments ha\e uo facilities for 
forwarding goods to the destitute in the various portions of the 
city. Their time is taken up with procuring and distributing 
supplies from the various headquarters. 

REASONS FOR BURNING RUINS. 

" Suggestions have been made to burn the pile of lumber 
of all kinds in the rafts, but this seems both impracticable and 
unadvisable. If it can be preserved, every stick and board will be 
of use hereafter. The only reasons for burning the rafts given 
are that it will cremate the bodies of the dead known to be in some 
and supposed to be in almost all of them. Sickness resulting from 
the decaying bodies is predicted if this is not done. But if it is 
attempted more loss of life is likely to occur from it than will 
result from sickness arising from putrid bodies. 

" Once let the fire demon get hold of the immense masses of 
lumber and the remaining portion of the city may be wiped out. 
No one who has seen a conflagration in a city can doubt that all 
the fire apparatus in Texas would be ineffectual to stop the 
march of the flames to the bay in case of a strong south 
wind. Many houses, partially wrecked, are in the piles, and 
many household goods belonging to people who have lost all 
may be recovered. Disinfect the rafts as far as possible, and ^ 
remove the lumber. Preserve it as far as can be done conve- 
niently. It will be needed for building temporary homes for the 
destitute. 



444 GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 

'* We have thousands of homeless people in the city, and 
while free transportation is offered to those who wish to go, there 
are many who have no friends to go to. These people must be 
cared for. Some are now crowded in the homes of friends, and 
others are located in the large buildings in the business district. 
All are only temporarily provided for. Something must be done to 
house them, at least temporarih^^ when cold weather approaches. 
It would be well to issue permits for temporary buildings to be 
erected from the debris of wrecked homes, without regard to the 
fire rules of the city as they now stand, but with the distinct pro- 
viso that they should be removed after a certain date: I am no 
advocate of ramshackle shanties as permanent buildings in the 
city, in any part of it, but I appreciate the fact that we are facing 
an emergency that requires prompt action to prevent severe suf- 
fering in the near future. 

A CHARITABLE PEOPLE. 

'Galveston's people have not in the past turned their faces 
against the suffering poor, and I do not think they will do so in 
the future. While strong, substantial buildings should be required 
in permanent structures, there is no reason why the wreckage 
should not be used in erecting temporary shelter for the home- 
less. Lumber promises to be a scarce article when once the 
resumption of building is begun, and every board, rafter and 
scantling on the pile of wreckage should be saved. 

" There is valuable wreckage strewn through the rafts. There 
are desks and trunks that may contain papers of value to the 
owners but valueless to others. These should be placed aside and 
saved for identification by their owners. Articles of personal 
apparel may some time be of use in settling the estates of the 
dead. Wills may be found stowed away in frail desks that by 
some chance may have escaped total wreckage in the storm. 
Jewelry and personal ornaments are not unlikely to be found in 
places where least expected. People fleeing from wrecked houses 
do not stop to search in trunks for ^ewel boxes. Many of them 



GALVESTON STORM STORlllS. 445 

doubtless remain in tlie mass of cliaos-like wreckage and may be 
recovered as the piles are cleared awa}-. 

" In a walk over the flats on Friday I turned off the water — 
or rather turned the faucets so as to prevent the water running 
out — wherever I saw a water pipe, and I would suggest that others 
peeing water pipes should do the same thing. The waterworks 
employes are doubtless looking after these pipes as far as practical, 
but where so large a district is covered as in the late storm it is 
almost impossible to find all of them. Water is the prime neces- 
sit}^ at this time, and every pipe turned off saves that much watei 
when the works once start up." 

Mr. David H. Hall, city electrician, completed a thorough 
canvass of the condition of affairs regarding the electric plant of 
the city. He said it was like awakening from a nightmare to get 
around and hustle to repair the appalling losses and destruction 
of property. Speaking after his canvass of the cit}^ and inspec- 
tion of the city's electric light plant, Mr. Hall said : 

PREPARING TO LIGHT THE CITY. 

" While the damage to the municipal electric light pictut is 
Very extensive, there is a great deal of salvage and nothing to 
interfere with an early resumption of operations. Temporar}^ 
sheds will be erected at once over the engines and djmamos and 
they will be soon put in condition for service. The principal 
mains, on Market street and Ball avenue, I find to be intact. 
The engines can be operated as soon as the steam pipes and the 
breaching to the boilers can be repaired. We wall have the busi- 
ness district between avenue A and Church street, Twentieth 
street and Rosenberg avenue, lighted within a week or ten days. 
This is about the earliest date that we deem it safe to turn on the • 
current owing to the amount of debris in the streets, the large 
number of men engaged in saving property and the menace to 
life and propert}^ that an electric current might prove to be. 

''One circuit in the business district will be completed in two 
days. The entire lighting service in that territory embracing 
Tentb street to Thirty-seventh street, avenues A to avenues K 



446 GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 

and L, can be restored and in operation within sixty days. Th& 
lighting service for the public buildings will be reinstalled as soon 
as the buildings are put in condition to receive the wiring. I ha\e 
received such generous and noble offers of assistance from strong 
financial quarters in the north that we will be able to secure all 
the material necessary to restore the plant and system at our own 
terms and have as long as the city wants to pay for same. The 
I most regrettable and deplorable feature to me is the loss of fifteen 
of my employes and their families. 

"I am not inclined to give up or lose courage or heart, and I 
feel like the old king at the siege of Megara, who is reiDorted to 
have said when taken prisoner : ' My palace has fallen about 
my head, my city is in flames, my state ravaged by my enemies, 
my wife and children I know not where ; no cloak to shield me 
from cold, but I have lost nothing. I have my intellect, my faith, 
my courage and my loyalty. These can not be taken from me, 
and, having them, I have lost nothing.' 

OVERCOMING DISASTERS. 

"Despite our tremendous losses, we can save much and make 
good much if we have not lost our heart and courage. Galveston 
will be restored ; if not by us, by sturdier men who are equal to 
the task. I was living in Chicago at the time of the great fire in 
187 1. Many men, and some of them of apparent good judgment, 
declared that Chicago would never be restored ; would never rise 
from the ashes. Within one year there was a better Chicago 
than ever before. Four years ago I went through the track of 
the St. Louis cyclone, and the same was said of that city. Now 
there is nothing to be seen there but scars of that awful storm. 

"The same will be with Galveston. In three or four years, 
or less, Galveston will be as great, if indeed not greater, than she 
was before the storm, if the people are true to themselves. It is 
surprising what can be done where willing and cheerful hearts go 
to work and work in the right way. Galveston citizens are not 
only hopeful but determined that the city shall be resurrected, as 
it were, and when that spirit animates us euou^^h is said." 



GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 447 

Did you ever feel the thrilling experience of being on a 
ship as she was just in the act of sinking ? " said a sunburnt sailor 
to a citizen. He was one of the survivors of the ill-fated dredge 
boat which sank near Texas City. 

"The night of the terrible hurricane at Galveston," he con- 
tinued, "it was predicted by several of us on board the dredge 
boat that a destructive storm was approaching, and it was deemed 
best to put out all anchors. We had no more than done so when 
the wind veered to the southeast. We had not put out all of the 
anchors any too soon, for of all the high winds and waves, those 
that lashed our boat were the worst I have ever seen. 

"I have been in many a shipwreck, and realized that it was 
only a short time before I would be in another world, for I felt 
the boat dragging her anchors and drifting inland at a terrific 
speed. We were then some eight or ten miles from shore. 

BOAT PASSING OVER TREE TOPS. 

"Ic seemed to me only fifteen or twenty minutes before the 
fury of the storm struck us. I saw our boat passing over tree 
tops. I knew we were then approaching the bay shore, and pos- 
sessing that knowledge as to when to leave a sinking ship, I pro- 
cured some fifteen life preservers and gave one each to the crew, 
and told each man how to put them on and to follow me to the 
upper deck, and be ready to dive off when I gave the word. 

"They were all frightened nearly to death, and only two 
succeeded in getting their life preservers on and reaching the top 
deck with me. When the fearful moment came for man to battle 
with the winds and water, I gave command to jump. In an 
instant three of us made a plunge into an immense breaker, which 
carried us high into the air. 

" I looked back and could see nothing of the boat that I had 
just abandoned. I have been informed that she went ashore 
about a mile and a half west of Texas City. If the other ten 
poor souls were saved, I have not heard of them. 

" Do you know there is something thrilling and exciting 
about being shipwrecked when you are near the shores. I pre- 



M8 C^ALVESTON STORM STORIES. 

sume a man feels tlie same tliat a paracliiite man does when lie 
gets near the gronnd in his downward flight. If his parachute 
works all right he is safe. With a sailor he must first adjust his 
life preserver and try to avoid the rocks and trees." 

Mr. E. W. Dorris, of Houston, was one of the relief part}^ 
that helped to bur}^ the dead as they washed ashore from Gal- 
veston. At daybreak he was unable to secure a boat of aii}^ kind 
to cross, but he and two others constructed a raft of some loose 
planks and started across the bay, reaching the draw of the Gal- 
veston, Houston and Henderson bridge. They were unable to go 
any further or cross the channel, the party being entirel}^ 
exhausted, and after signaling distress for more than an hour, the 
tramp ship grounded at the wagon road bridge, in the middle oi 
the bay, finally sent a lifeboat to the rescue of the part}', taking 
them ashore to the Galveston side. Mr. Dorris states that the 
part}^ saw no less than 600 dead bodies between the brid£!;e and 
the Santa F'e depot. 

GLARED AT THE THRONG. 

He stood on the corner of Main and Congress strec'^s m a 
half dazed condition. He glared at the great throng that was 
passing, some on business bent while others were seeking the 
latest news and hunting their relatives. He did not observe that 
he was being watched, nor would he have cared, for the expression 
upon his face showed him to be a man of great determination to be 
brave under the greatest misfortune of his life. You could trace 
in his every action a man in great sorrow. 

But he had to show his emotion and give vent to his feelings, 
which so long he tried to smother ;- mechanically he raised his 
hand and covered his face in order to hide his grief As he 
took his hands down he wiped both eyes, which had been flowing 
with tears. At this juncture he was approached by a citizen who, 
in kind tones, asked him of his solicitations and grief 

He said : " I am trying to be strong both in mind and bod}^, 
but I cannot suppress ni}'^ feelings in this public thoroughfare. 
Yes sir, I am suffering, mourning for the dead ; m^^ wife and 



GALVESTON STORM STORIES. .449 

sweet baby arc among those who have gone to the great be- 
yond." 

" How did it occur and how did you escape ?" 

" Six weeks ago I kissed her (my wife) and my darhng baoy 
good-bye and took the first train for an interior toMm, where I had 
secured employment. By correspondence it was arranged between 
us that she was to come to me on Monday. The storm occurred 
Saturdy night and she and the baby were drowned. 

" Were the corpses found ? " was asked. 

" Yes. She had the baby clasped in her arms. She was 
found within fif/.y feet of where our once happy home stood. She 
was given as decent a burial as circumstances would permit. I am 
sorry, but I caimot talk any further upon this subject, as ni}' grief 
knows no bounds." 

THE USUAL QUESTIONS. 

After uttering the last sentence he pulled his hat down over 
his ^yes and he passed into the crowded throng that was headed 
down the street. He looked around and said : 

" There are hundreds of cases that are similar to mine, the 
result of this great hurricane." 

" Was your fathv:.r, mother, brother, sister, son or daughter 
or other relatives saved from the Galveston horror ? " are ques- 
tions that are frequently heard asked as friends meet and greet 
each other in Houston. 

" Yes," said a gentleman speaking to another, who asked him 
if his son was safe. "I have just returned from Galveston with 
him. You would hardly recognize him, though, bruised, battered 
and bleeding, with a bandage around his head and his arm in a 
sling. These wounds were not caused by trying to save himself, 
but others. He was boarding with some life-long friends of our 
family who had been extremely kind to him. When the storm 
was at it height and danger appeared on every hand and it was 
deemed advisable to abandon their home to its fate, Charlie was 
the sole protector of two lone women. He took the elder one first 
and carried her to a place of safety, after being washed about 



450 GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 

by the water and debris of trees and buildings for an liour or 
more 

" When the storm was raging in its greatest fury he returned 
to the home of his friend for the young lady. Reaching her he 
was surprised to find the water nearly five feet deep all around the 
place, and the house careened over, nearly ready to fall. With 
his arm tightly clasped into hers they started for the high 
ground. The Gulf was now raging in all its madness ; billows 
were piling many feet into the air, and each billow seemed to vie 
with the other as to which could raise its head the higher, and do 
the greatest destruction. 

" Sometimes Charlie and his precious, helpless burden would 
be entirely submerged for some time. At other times they would 
be lifted off their feet and carried a distance of fifteen or twenty 
feet. After regaining their equilibrium they would again forge 
forward to meet the elements, of danger of life and limb. Each 
wave had cunningly hidden beneath its sprays missiles of death, 
such as pieces of planks, house tops, buggies, wagons, pianos and 
other articles too numerous to mention. It kept these two wearied 
and exhausted creatures nearly all the time dodging and escaping 
those death missiles. 

PIANO TOSSING IN THE WATER. 

'When they had nearly reached a place of safety they 
noticed a larger wave than usual coming. Charlie saw upon its 
crest an upright piano being tossed about as though it were a 
feather. Would it miss them ? was the question that flashed into 
both of their minds. 

" Onward it came, with its ivory keys, showing it was once a 
messenger of joy and happiness, but it was now a messenger of 
"death, for with one mighty bound it went straight up into the air 
upon the foaming and frothy water and plunged straight down at 
Charlie and his fair companion. He saw that he had to make one 
more dea,th struggle in an instant. He threw himself in front of 
his lone midnight charge and placed her arms around his body 
and told her to hold on to him with all her strength. 



GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 451 

''The supreme moment was over — the piano had been 
thwarted in its effort to crush them, b.ut in the struggle Charlie 
found that he had been torn loose from his lady friend, who had 
been swallowed up by the raging wave. He at once began a search 
by feeling and diving for her. Not a flash of lightning, nor the 
glimmer of an arc light was visible, for, like the life of this dear 
creature who was engulfed b}^ the torrent waters, they had gone 
out. 

" At this juncture a remarkable thing happened. He had 
decided to dive once more. He did so, and grasped the hand of 
what he thought to be his missing friend. He was overjoyed, but 
upon bringing her to the surface he found that it was not her, but 
another. 

"The waters had increased so in depth b}^ this time that it 
was impossible for him to attempt to wade, and about this time a 
house top came along and he crawled upon it. While drifting 
about on it, he picked up four boys from 6 to 12 years of age. His 
frail craft finally drifted to a place of safety, where he and his 
young companions were rescued." 

ATTRACTED NO ATTENTION. 

So many are the stories, so harrowing the details, and so 
miraculous the escapes that for the present the experiences of 
different persons on the night of the storm in Houston attracted 
no attention ; in fact, if a person wished to tell of his experience 
in Houston that night he could scarcely find an interested 
listener. 

Nevertheless, Mr. Fred. Chadly, who lives near the Arkansas 
Pass depot, came as near losing his life that fatal night as did 
any who passed through its fury in the city of Galveston and 
escaped. Mr. Chadly left the Capitol Hotel for home about 10 
o'clock, not realizing the intensity of the storm. 

x\fter an hour's fighting the strong wind and rain and dodg- 
ing falling trees and flying debris of all kinds, he arrived at his 
house only to find the front door impregnabl}^ barricaded by a 
large fallen tree. Nothing daunted, however, Mr. Chadly imme- 



452 GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 

diatel}^ proceeded to make his wa}' around to the back of the 
house and gain an entrance there. 

He was walking in a crouching position with his head bent 
down so that the wind would not strike him squarely in the face, 
and was not looking ahead, therefore the large cypress cistern, as 
it tottered on its foundation preparatory to being blown down, 
escaped his notice until he was too late to dodge it. The cistern 
was blown over, turning twice in rapid succession, falling top 
downward directly over Mr. Chadly. 

The cistern Avas about one-third full of water, but as Mr. 
Chadly was already thoroughly wet, the water made very little 
difference, as it soon ran out. Mr. Chadly called loudly for help, 
but owing to the pandemonium caused by the hurricane, no one 
heard him. The next morning the carpenter came to fix the 
cistern, and after raising it discovered Mr. Chadly, who was nearly 
smothered to death. 

HOUSE ROLLED MANY YARDS. 

One of the experiences of the storm was that of Miss Reine 
Stanton of Houston, who, with her father and a younger sister, 
were camping on her farm two and a half miles from Letitia. 
The house rolled for a distance of 200 yards and then collapsed. 
The girls were rescued several hours later in an unconscious con- 
dition, but, though quite seriously injured, they may recover. All 
the buildings on the place were wrecked. 

" You have often heard that men are fond of the 'jug," said 
one of the refugees. " Well, I am fond of two jugs, for they are 
the cause of my being here to-day. I owned a little shanty on 
the west end of Galveston Island, and, like many others who 
lived there, I thought and argued that we were not in the storm 
center, andhadseen the water come up nearmy shanty many times 
before and recede. This time it not only came up to my little 
home, but into it. After waiting patiently for it to go down, it 
kept climbing higher and higher into it. It dawned upon me all 
of a sudden that all means of escape had been cut off. 

" I looked around for something that would bear my weight 



GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 463 

Upon the water. I saw in tHe corner of my house two two-gallon 
jugs. I took them and securely fastened a stopper in each and 
got a piece of rope and then fastened them to my bod}^ bj^ passing 
the rope around under my arms, and securely tying them to each 
other. I then went out on the gallery and when the crash came 
I dove off into the maddening waters. I suppose that I was 
carried about twent}^ miles down the island and thence back, God 
Iknows how far, and inland about eight miles. When I became 
conscious it was nearly daylight Monday morning. I walked here, 
where I have some friends, and have been recuperating. 

"Yes, I believe in jugs, at least for life saving purposes 
only." 

An amusing incident occurred at the International and Great 
Northern depot. One of the ladies' relief corps from the North 
was highly indignant and pitched into Superintendent Trice 
because sleepers were not attached to the train going down to 
Texas City. 

WANTED PALACE CARS. 

" We've rode in those Pullmans all the w-ay from New 
York, and it's a shame and outrage that you intend making 
us ride in a day coach now. We want those sleepers to live in." 
She was wrathy, but when the colonel informed her that before 
the party got out at Galveston they'd have to walk on dead bodies, 
wade through slush and slime and have a tough time generally 
she'd think a day coach was a palace, she said no more. It is 
evident that some of the " relief corps" consider the trip a 
pleasure jaunt. When they have been in Galveston a few days 
■they will probably change their minds. 

" First reports of storm damage are always rather exagger- 
ated," remarked a gentleman of the x\rcola plantation. " iVt first 
everything looks as though it were completely wrecked, but after 
the calm comes and the work of straightening up begins it is 
astonishing to see how little property really is damaged. We had 
considerable damage on our place. The cabius blew down and the 
convict house was unroofed. When this occurred we turned all the 



464 GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 

convicts out on the prairie and the next morning all of them 
voluntarily reported for duty except six, and the}^ worked like 
trojans assisting in the work of cleaning up. The cane crop suffered 
considerably, but is by no means a loss. It is recuperating nicely. 
Very little corn was lost, because most of it was gathered." 

Mr. Fred. Krickson, who returned from Galveston, says he 
saw a lady, who was drowned among the many others en a burial 
barge, who had on a fine watch, diamond earrings, several dia- 
mond finger rings ; besides, he noticed that she wore gold clasp 
garters with her name upon them. 

He asked the party in charge why these valuables were not 
removed and the garters removed as a means of identification, 
and he was told that they were not allowed to remove anything 
from the bodies, no matter how valuable and how it might aid in 
future identification. 

JEWELS ON THE DEAD. 

He noticed a woman floating in the water, and he and a 
policeman turned her over, and attached to her bosom was a very 
fine gold watch with her name upon it. He called the police- 
man's attention to the importance of securing the watch for future 
identification, and was given the same information. 

Mrs. John P. Smart returned from Galveston on board the 
steamer " Lawrence," along with about 400 women and children. 
Mrs. vSmart had been in Galveston for some three weeks, and 
came away on the first trip made by the "Lawrence." vShe said of 
her experience during the storm : 

"At 3 o'clock Saturday afternoon, in spite of the efforts of 
the lady of the house to persuade us all to remain at home, we 
set out for a place of safety, the Atlanta Hotel. The water was 
then three feet deep on avenue P. On the way to the hotel I saw 
three women drowned. They were making their way down the 
street and were blown down by the wind and lost. We left the 
house none too soon. After the storm not a trace of it could be 
found. 

"The wind was then blowing at the rate of about sixty miles 



GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 455 

an hour. At ii o'clock, when the wind was at it.s height, the 
water around the Atlanta Hotel was nine feet deep and the build- 
ing shook terribl}^ As the windows were blown in, the men 
stopped them up again with doors. But when the worst was over 
and the house still stood, we found that not one of all those who 
had crowded there for refuge was lost. 

'■ The sight on Sunday morning defies description. One 
could not look in any direction without seeing scores of human 
bodies. One building in the west end, in which between 400 and 
500 had taken shelter, went down and every human being in it 
was lost. Not a house was left along the beach. On the bay 
shore I saw three men on horseback dead. Horses and riders, 
with reins gripped as if to ride through the peril at au}^ cost, had 
passed over the river. 

MAJORITY KILLED OUTRIGHT. 

"There were a number injured, but the overwhelming major- 
ity were killed outright. The injured were taken care of at the 
Seah' and St. Mary's hospitals, both of which were injured, but 
not totally destroyed. There are doctors enough in Galveston, 
but medical supplies are needed. 

"One pitiful incident came under my observation, Mrs. 
Baldwin clung to a raft for twelve hours, from six o'clock Satur- 
day night until six Sunday morning, holding a child, a h-Ahy two 
years old, in her arms. The baby begged her to save its dog-, a 
beautiful St. Bernard, too. Of course this was impossible. The 
baby was killed in its mother's arms by ^ying debris and the dog 
was saved. 

" The horror of that Sunday morning 1 shall never forget ; 
white, ghastly corpses turning up their faces to the light, 
or clinging to a child or loved one, tlieir twisted, 
agonized faces, showing the anguish of that last unequal* 
struggle against death, were everywhere. One woman I saw- 
holding fast to two bags of silver, as if to say : ' Better die than be 
a beggar.' Nearl}^ all the west end people were lost. Those who 
sought safety in large houses had but the grim consolation of 



456 GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 

dying in company, for the whole of that portion of the city was 
destroyed. The work of rescue began as soon as the storm 
abated. But the crowd of survivors on the street Sunday morn- 
ing was pitiably small. They seemed to me scarce 10,000. Clad 
in next to nothing, bathing suits and the like, the sun brought 
them only the sight of dead relatives and friends — some starva- 
tion. 

" There was no food and no water. For two days I tasted 
no water and food was scarce indeed. The city, as soon as soldiers 
could be gotten, was put under the strictest martial law, under pro- 
test of Mayor Jones and Chief of Police Ketchum. These officials 
desired to enforce the law by civil authority. Fully seventy-five 
men have been killed for looting the dead and refusing to halt 
when ordered. Every house has to be guarded lest thieves break 
in them and steal. 

OCEAN GIVING UP ITS DEAD. 

" The ' Lawrence ' which at first was under the control of the 
relief committee and charged nothing for passage, now exacts $2 
per capita to Texas City. Besides this, there are three boats in 
the service. The only wa}' to get away from Galveston is to go 
by boat to Texas City, where there are about 1000 women and 
children and almost no accommodations. 

" The bodies have been all cleared away from the central 
portion of the town and there is a continual stream of corpse laden 
floats, drays, etc., to the barges. The west end has been set on 
fire, as the mass of wreckage there makes recovery impossible. 
But the beach is lined with bodies yet. Every day they wash up 
upon the sand. Old ocean is giving up its dead. 

" The women and children will probably be compelled tc 
leave. They are badly in need of clothes and avow that they 
want no rags but nice new clothes, ' to avoid epidemic' I attrib- 
ute the terrible loss of life," concluded Mrs. Smart, "to the fact 
that the people trusted Galveston too much, and clung too long to 
a failing hope. This has often appeared to be a strange trait of 
human nature." 



GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 457 

A correspondent furnishes the following account of a well- 
known family : 

" One of the saddest cases which has come to light is that of 
the Jalonick brothers of Dallas. No man is better known than 
Isaac Jalonick, of Dallas, who was so long the secretary of the Texas 
rating bureau, and he and his brothers have hosts of friends all over 
'Lhe State. There were three of them, George, Kd and Isaac. The 
/family of Ed Jalonick, consisting of his wife, son and daughter, 
the children being 3^oung, came to Galveston several weeks ago 
to spend the latter part of the summer on the Gulf coast. They 
had taken a house on the southern part of the island, west of the 
Denver resurvey. 

ONE OF THE SADDEST CASES. 

" It was far removed from the city, and was in a section 
which was so badly storm swept that not a house remains. Mr. 
Jalonick came last week to take his family home, but the bad 
weather interfered and the trip home was postponed. Saturday 
the storm came, and when the two brothers, George and Ike, in 
Dallas, heard of the disaster they came here at once, to ascertain 
the condition of their brother and his family. They went to the 
former home and but a vacant spot met their anxious search for the 
house which had sheltered their loved ones. They decided to 
make a search among the dead on the island, in the hope that they 
could find the bodies and give them decent burial. 

"For three days they were on the hunt. Mounted and 
accompanied by a team, with burial boxes, they moved across the 
island in every direction, examining every body they found. 
During their journey they viewed not less than 150 corpses. 
Now and again they had found him or her whom they sought. 
Here it would be a piece of clothing, there a feature, and again the 
' form, but each time only disappointment repaid them for the task 
of love, devotion and duty they had undertaken. It was an anxious 
search with hope deferred. 

" They had no idea that they would be successful, but so 
anxious were they to have their relatives given decent burial, so 



458 ■ GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 

strong was the desire to prevent them being in an unmarked 
grave, or consigned to the deep, or perhaps cremated with hun- 
dreds of others, that they decided to continue until every chance 
of a success was lost. Thursday at noon they were successful. 
They had searched for six miles west, and two to two and a half 
miles across, when suddenly Isaac recognized a shirt worn by a 
body which he found. 

IDENTIFIED BY LAUNDRY MARK. 

"It was a blue garment, one the brother had Avorn M'heu 
with one of these brothers who was searching, and its color and 
cut brought to mind days when he and the lost one were 
together in happiness and in health. They investigated and turn- 
ing back the collar they found the initials of their lost brother, as 
the garment had been marked by the laundry. This removed all 
doubt, and the body was put into a box and prepared for burial. 
It had badly decomposed, having laid for five days where the 
waves cast it, beneath the warm ra37s of a summer sun, and exposed 
to the elements of the night. With the helpers they succeeded in 
gathering it tenderly into the confines of a rough box. 

" ' They dug out a grave a few feet deep, 

And there in earth's arms they laid him to sleep.' 

"They did not abandon the search because of finding one 
body, but continued it further on, and at 3 P. M. they found the 
boy. The little fellow was not far from his father, showing that 
the two had remained together las long as life remained in the 
parent. He v/as identified beyond all doubt. He was laid b}^ the 
father. The two graves were marked, and it is the intention 01 
the surviving brothers to have the bodies removed to the family 
lot in Dallas as soon as conditions justify. They will continue! 
the search for the body of Mrs. Bd Jalonick and the little girl," 

It is at a time like the occasion of the Galveston storm when ' 
real heroes are made, when individuals become men of the hour, 
and when the true manhood of a man is made known to his fel- 
lows. The silent, modest, quiet man of every day life has never 



GALVESTON STORM STORIES. -159 

the credit that is his due, because he does not seek the notoriety 
which is necessar}^ There are men praised by the people of the 
United States because they were on a boat at Santiago or Manilla, 
or followed a commander up a hill at San Juan ; by Great Britain 
because he was of Modder river, Lad3\smith, or possibly Pretoria ; 
and by other countries because of distinguished bravery in battle^' 
They were men who had been schooled to danger, who had 
gone into the fight, with the one idea in mind, to kill and be 
killed for the honor of the flag they followed. They went into 
the conflict believing that it meant death or honors of war, and 
their heroism was of a character qualified by the conditions lead- 
ing up to it. Not so with the men who passed through the flood 
of last Saturda}^ and enrolled their names upon the tablet of 
fame. There are many instances, but they can not all be told. 
They were frequent during the terrible times of that day. One 
of these has already been told, that of the act of the boy of George 
Walker, of Austin, a little fellow not yet in his teens, who, by 
his heroic act, saved his aunt, who was all but drowned. 

GALLANT WORK OF FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

But one has not been told. The people of the west end of 
the city speak in the highest praise of the boys of No. 6 fire 
station, which is located on Broadway, near Thirty-seventh 
street. When the water was very high, they secured their horses 
in the basement of the Broadway school building, tying high 
their heads so that they would be saved, and they were all brought 
out alive. The men then worked manfully for those about them; 
man after man, woman after woman, with many children were 
brought out of the water by these men of the fire-fighting force, 
and taken to the large school building opposite their station. 
They saved many people. There were 1 200 people in this build- 
ing at one time, and every one of them was saved. 

Mrs. Frank Nichols, her daughter and little Miss Selkirk 
were down the island at their summer home, and Mrs. Nichols 
tells of the bravery of Captain White of the " Wasp." The 
" Wasp " saved Captain Andrews and family of the life saving 



460 GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 

station. The sails blew away and the boat capsized with all o i 
board, bnt the mast broke in the water and she righted herself. 
She drifted all night and landed in the bayou near the Nichols 
place Sunday morning with all safe. 

The son of Mrs. Nichols got a horse in Galveston at 2 o'clock 
and managed to get to them, saving their lives. Their home was 
^wrecked, but the young man built a rude shanty of the wreckage 
Wi the shore and they secured enough food in the ruins of their 
home to give the people on the "Wasp " a Sunday dinner. Mr. 
Nichols was in town. His home was completely wrecked and the 
clothes were torn from his back by the wind and wreckage. He 
is a little disfigured, but still able to be about. 

MAN CARRIED THIRTY MILES. 

Mr. A. A. Van Alstyne had a large quantity of provisions, 
such as rice, canned goods, etc., stored with him. He and his 
family escaped unhurt, and every since have been using their 
house as a basis of supplies for the needy in their immediate 
neighborhood. 

Mr. Henry R. Decie, who lives eight and one-half miles down 
Galveston island, was in Houston, and reports that he was at his 
home when the storm began, but took his wife and children to the 
house of Mr. Willie Raine, a close neighbor. After reaching 
there he says the water, with one bound, raised four or five feet 
which took the house off the blocks. 

" My wife and I were sitting on the foot of one of the beds 
at that time, which was 6 o'clock. We felt the house quiver, and 
my wife threw her arms around my neck and kissed me and said, 
' Good-bye, we are gone.' 

"Just then the house crushed in and we struggled hard to get 
out. My baby boy was in my arms a corpse, having been killed 
b}^ a falling timber. Another wave came and swept the overhang- 
ing house off my head. I looked around and discovered that m}^ 
wife was gone and the remaining part of the house was drifting 
apart. Catching a piece of scantling I was carried thirty miles 
across the bay, landing near the mouth of Cow bayou.'' 



CHAPTER XXIII 

Heroic Incidents — Arrival of Relief Trains — Hospitals for 

the Injured— Loud Call for 

Skilled Labor. 

AIvADY correspondent who went from Houston to view the 
wreck of Galveston reported as follows : 

"We are only just beginning to find out what this awful 
calamity has been to the people in this vicinit^^ The first shock 
is wearing off, the long lists of dead and missing are getting to 
be an old story now, and the sick and suffering are crawling into 
our places of refuge. Some of them have been sleeping on the 
open prairies ever since the storm, most of them, in fact, men 
with broken arms and legs, sick women and ailing children. 

" They crawl out of the wreck of their homes and lie down 
on the bare ground to die. Our relief corps are finding them and 
bringing them in as fast as they can. Dr. Johnson and his part}^ 
came in from the Galveston district and reported that they found 
over 5,000 people and attended medically about 200 patients. 

" While we were standing at the door of the hospital talking 
things over a man rode up on horseback. He threw his arms up 
to attract our attention. 

" ' Is this the relief hospital ? ' he said. 

"Dr. Johnson told him that it was." 

"'Ive come in from the Brazos bottoms," he said. 'The 
folks there are starving. There is not a pound of flour left and 
the children are crying for milk. There are so many sick people 
there that we don't know what to do. Can you send some one 
down ?' 

"Dr. Johnson had not slept for twenty-four hours. He had 
not had time to get a full meal for thirty-six hours. He was worn 
out and travel stained, but he heard what the man told him. 

" ' All right,' he said. He picked up his coat, put on his hat 
and turned to his assistants. ' Come on, boys,' he said. ' Let us 

461 



462 relip:f trains and hospitals. 

go down aud get the cars into shape. We'll get down to your 
place, my man, just as fast as the Lord will let us.' 

"The man on horseback leaned over his saddle and tried to 
speak. vSomething in his face frightened nie, I called to two doc- 
tors. They ran out and caught him. He was in a dead faint. 
When we had brought him to he laughed sheepishly. ' I don't 
know what's the matter with me,' he said. ' Ain't never been 
taken this way before.' The doctors looked at each other and 
smiled, but the nurses' eyes were full of tears. The man had 
not tasted food for thirty-six hours, and he had ridden fifty miles 
in the broiling sun of Texas. Dr. Crossway and his men are 
down the island relieving the sick and burying the dead. 

HOSPITAL OVERCROWDED. 

" 'Alkali Ike,' they call Dr. Crossway, that is because he is 
tall and rawboned and comes from Texas himself If a man gets 
a nickname in this part of the world you know that he is loved. 
The women and children who came from the district where 
' Alkali Ike ' is working know his name and their eyes fill with 
grateful tears at the mention of it. The hospital at Galveston is 
well named. The corps is effectively organized and we hear from 
there that they are doing splendid work. Our own hospital here 
in Houston is in ship-shape condition. 

"We have built a partition or two, put up temporary quar- 
ters for a dressing room for the nurses aud doctors. The great 
ice boxes are filled and the range, which burned wood, has been 
replaced with a gas range to keep the heat down as much as 
possible. 

"There is a little railing just back of the great wide door of 
the hospital where the entrance to the theater used to be and there 
the relieviug nurse sits with her assistants. The bookkeeper has 
her desk there and the man who answers inquirers is standing 
there. 

"This is no ordinary hospital work. People come crowding 
to the doors, and nearly all night they come. Some of them are 
hungry, some of them are sick, some of them are hunting for 



RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 463 

missing friends, and some are niereh- curious. Some are neigh- 
bors who come to offer help, some are women bringing delicacies 
to off"er to the sick. It takes the entire time of three persons to 
attend to this crowd of visitors intelligently. 

" We are keeping records of every case entered at the hospital. 
The name and age and final disposition of the case. These names 
and the facts concerning them are kept on the books for reference, 
so that people are easily identified, and so that any one who has 
contributed to the fund can investigate and find out just exactly 
what became of the money he gave. It is hard to pick out a case 
in the hospital which does not deserve special attention. A man 
was brought in with three broken ribs. They were broken the 
night of the storm, he having been working ever since burying 
the dead. 

" A young man was carried to the hospital on a stretcher late 
last night who was wandering up and down the island for the past 
three days trying to find the bod}^ of his young wife. He found 
and buried over forty bodies which had been overlooked by the 
burying committee, but he did not find his wife. He is lying out 
at the hospital now in a stupor. 

SUFFERING UNTOLD AGONY. 

" A boy of twelve was brought in who has been suffering 
untold agony from an injury to his e3^e for four days. He has 
not had a soul to help or to speak to him, and all he has had to 
eat in that time was a handful of crackers. A woman came in at 
II o'clock last night. She had a baby in her arms and three 
children hanging to her skirts. None of them had tasted food for 
nearly three days. 

" A young girl was brought in by one of the outside corps at 
|9 o'clock last night. The relief corps found her huddled up in an 
empty freight car, laughing and singing to amuse herself The 
doctors say food and care is all she needs to restore her to reason. 
Three-fourths of the people who come in are mentally dull. The 
physicians say with proper care that most of them can be cured." 

One of the many touching incidents of the storm occurred at 



464 RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 

Houston on the iSth. Mrs. R. Onaitroiigli and Mrs. Will Glass 
were at the International and Great Northern depot Monday 
intent on the relief of an}^ who needed, when they saw a little 
woman with a bab}^ of abont eight months in her arms. The 
mother was weeping bitterly, so the two kindhearted friends went 
np to see what was the matter. The stranger said she had just 
arrived from New Orleans to find Galveston shut off from the 
world, and her husband, mother and sister were there, and she 
feared they were all lost. Mrs. Glass finally prevailed over the 
little woman to go home with her, where she could care for her. 

Tuesday Mrs. Qualtrough was busy at the market house 
helping to distribute the clothing and food to the sufferers, when 
her son came to her and told her there was a man from Galveston 
in the room, and he wished she would go to him. The man, who 
was bruised and beaten in his fight with waves, was in great dis* 
tress. He wanted to get to New Orleans, but had no money, his 
wife and child were there, and he had to tell her that her mother 
and sisters were drowned. 

WOMAN DRIFTED NEARLY THREE DAYS. 

An instinct told Mrs. Qualtrough the truth. She asked what 
was the size and complexion of his wife, and how old was the 
baby. Looking at her strangely, the man described exactly the 
woman and child found at the International and Great Northern 
station. " I believe your wife is here," was the extraordinary 
comment on his story. Calling to Mrs. Ward, the fish merchant, 
Mrs. Qualtrough asked her to take the man to Mrs. Glass' home, 
and the husband and wife met. It was a pitiful scene, for while 
she had got her husband back, the poor woman learned of the loss 
of mother and sisters. 

A woman was brought into Houston who was two days and a 
night drifting about in Galveston bay, bringing with her a par- 
rot which she had held above the waters all that time. The par- 
rot and a bag of money was all she had left. 

Mr. A. C. Fonda, a patient at the Houston infirmary, was a 
clerk in the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe freight office at Galves- 



RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 4B,') 

ton, and lived on Broadway. He tells a tale of liis experience 
whicli is niiracnlous. He remained in his lionse until it was 
blown down, and then, in some miraculous manner, he was blown 
into a large cypress cistern which was about half full of water. 
After being in the cistern for about an hour a kind of twister 
struck it and blew all the water out, but left him. When the 
cistern was relieved of the water it rose and was finally washed 
out on the Gulf, where it remained until Monda}^ morning, when 
the wind and tide brought it back to Galveston and its occupant 
was rescued in a thoroughly exhausted condition. 

Beaumont, Texas, September 14. — Mr. A. Zwirn, one of the 
Beaumonters who left for Galveston on a freight train Monday 
afternoon, returned yesterday after having spent fourteen hours 
in the stricken cit\^ Mr. Zwirn reached Galveston Tuesday 
evening, having succeeded in getting across the bay on a small 
sailboat. He went to the Island City to search for friends and 
found a greater portion of them alive. 

FIRST CITY TO GIVE ASSISTANCE. 

Mr. Zwirn says Beaumont was the first city to get assistance 
into Galveston. He was present at a meeting of Galveston citi- 
zens when it was announced that a boat with ice and water from 
Beaumont had arrived, and he says the fervent thanks which 
went up from the gathering and the tribute one of the men 
paid to the Queen of the Neches made him feel proud of his 
residence here. 

"It was, however, not the fault of Houston," said Mr. Zvvirn, 
"that the Bayou City did not get supplies to the Island City 
quicker. The train on which I came to the end of the railroad 
track had several cars of provisions, ice, etc., and many more were 
standing on the tracks when we arrived. The trouble was the 
absence of transportation across the bay to Galveston. There were 
many boats, but the owners found it more profitable to carry pas- 
sengers from $1 per head up than to transport supplies. I can 
not describe the joy with which the boat from Beaumont was 
received. It not only contained that which the sufferers needed 

30 



406 RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 

badly, but it was evidence tbat tbere was communication witb. tbe 
outside world, and revived tbe spirits of many wbo bad become 
Respondent." 

Under tbe rules and regulations prescribed by tbe military 
laws governing tbe city, tbe M^ork of clearing tbe streets, disposing 
of tbe dead and cleaning tbe city in general bave progressed 
very favorably. Tbe plans mapped out by tbe military depart- 
ment brougbt tbe operations down to a system. Wbere tbere is 
order and system mucb can be accomplisbed, and tbis was most 
clearly demonstrated by tbe reports of one day's labors in tbis field. 
Nearly tbree tbousand men were organized in gangs and squads 
of from ten to twenty-five, working under tbe direction of foremen, 
supervised by ward superintendents, started out early in tbe morn- 
ing and worked faitbfully until dark. Tbe detailed results of 
tbeir labors were not to be bad, but enougb was sbown by tbe 
repoits to demonstrate tbe value of organization. 

THE ARMY OF WORKERS. 

All foremen were ordered to report daily at military bead- 
quarters, wbere a large force of clerks were kept busy cbronicling 
tbe amount of debris removed, tbe number of dead bodies disposed 
of, etc. Anotber force under command of Adjutant-General 
McCaleb was kept busy printing orders issued for tbe guidance 
of tbe work, laws governing tbe protection of property and tbe 
lives of citizens, etc. 

Tbe militia was placed on guard duty in all parts of tbe city 
and tbe city police and sberiff's department are co-operating witb 
tbe military autborities, wbicb is supreme in control of tbe city. 

Wbile tbe power is invested in tbe military autborities, Brig- 
adier-General Scurry, commanding, Adjutant-General Hunt Mc- 
Caleb directs tbat men may be impressed into service in cleaning 
tbe streets and performing otber labors incumbent upon tbe 
department, it is gratifying to know tbat very few men bad to be 
impressed into service. Some few beld back under one pretense 
and anotber, but wben given to understand tbat tbey would be 
compelled to work tbey invariably joined the army of laborers. 



RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 467 

The beach and the western part of the city presented the 
picture of about one hundred or more pyres where human bodies 
and the carcasses of dead animals were disposed of by fire. Sepa- 
rate pyres were designated for human bodies and animal carcasses 
and the work progressed rapidly. The gruesome task was 
heartrending and many able-bodied men succumbed to the 
terrible ordeal. The bodies recovered yesterday and those still 
buried beneath the debris are in an advanced state of decomposi- 
tion and utterly beyond recognition or identification unless by the 
clothing or some ornament worn by the dead. Ninety-five per 
cent, of the bodies recovered are naked. 

The hurricane, aided materially by the action of the raging 
torrents, invariably stripped the victims of all vestige of clothing 
or other articles that might lead to identification. Another 
remarkable fact, which shows the force of the storm in packing 
the wreckage and debris in high mounds, is seen in the amount 
of water held by the wreckage. 

MILES OF WRECKAGE. 

Six days of sunshine and seven nights of cool Gulf breezes 
have failed to draw the water held by the wreckage which, jammed 
into water-tight ridges, formed tanks to hold the salt water which 
inundated the city. While the ground all around these ridges is 
dry and hard, the removal of the top ridge disclosed several feet 
of water. At least 20 per cent, of the bodies recovered yesterday 
from the wreckage were taken out of water. 

A reporter who attempted to make a circuit of the rescuing 
parties working on the beach and throughout the western part of 
the city, noted the finding of 123 and the discovery of at least 
twenty more bodies, which were so hemmed in by wreckage that 
it was impossible to get them out. It is impossible to estimate 
the number of dead buried beneath the miles of wreckage. 

When the forces started out 3'esterday morning it was thought 
by many that the greater number of dead had been removed from 
the prisons built by the storm. The work had not progressed far 
before the workmen began to dig into ruins where bodies were 



468 RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 

found. During the liasty toui of the reporter he witnessed inc 
finding of ten bodies between Tremont and Thirty-first streets 
along the ridge of wreckage which marks the path of the storm 
from the east to the west on the beach and extending inland from 
three to seven blocks. 

The most important journal in Texas, the "Galveston 
News," commented as follows : 

" The ' News ' desires to repeat what it has already said to 
its now unhappy people on Galveston Island. The sorrows of 
the past few days are overwhelming, and we all feel them and' 
will continue to feel them so long as we live. It could not be 
expected that our friends and relatives and loved ones should be 
so suddenly torn from us without leaving scars from which those 
in the ranks of maturity can never recover. 

FORTITUDE OF SURVIVORS. 

" But it is all in the past now. We cannot recall our dead 
thousands. Wherever they sleep, beneath the tireless waves or 
under the arching skies, we will love their memories and recall 
as long as we live the unspeakable and mysterious tragedy which 
destroyed them. But it must be remembered that we have more 
than 30,000 living, and many of these are children too young to 
have their lives and energies paralyzed by the disaster which has 
overtaken us. 

" Our homes must be rebuilt, our schools repaired, and the 
natural advantages of the port must sooner or later receive our 
earnest attention. We have loved Galveston too long and too 
well to desert her in the hour of misfortune. Our distress and 
destitution are going to be relieved, for a sympathizing country 
is already providing for temporary needs. This people are too 
proud and self-reliant, however, to lose spirit and fail of duty. 
In the very darkness of the moment there is light ahead, and we 
must look to the light ahead. Even in the midst of our dead and 
.our ruins light appears. 

" The railroads are bending every effort to repair the bridges 
and place us once more in commercial communication with the 



RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 469 

mainland ; fhe telegraph companies, putting tlieir lieavy losses 
behind them, are restoring their wires as fast as men can do it ; 
the telephone company, is doing likewise, and the wharf com- 
panies are similarly engaged. As the ' News ' understands it, 
the Southern Pacific Company proposes to double its force to 
« implete the improvement which was so damaged by the storm. 

"The waterworks will soon be restored, the street railway 
repaired, and all the other elements of a metropolitan life placed 
in working order. The ships will come into the harbor for traffic 
and get it, and that traffic will afford employment to thousands. 
If the people will take heart, they will soon find that all has not 
been lost, and, moreover, much is to be saved. If we lost 5000 
people, there are more than 30,000 to be provided for ; if we have 
lost $15,000,000 in property, we still have that much to save and 
restore. 

REBUILDING GALVESTON. 

"There is much to hope for and to strive for, and we must 
hope and strive to save ourselves and meet the expectations of 
the world. The 'News' received a telegram last night from a 
great New York paper inquiring if Galveston would rebuild. 
The answer was sent back that Galveston did not intend to suc^ 
cumb to her crushing misfortune, but would again resume her 
place as the great port of the Gulf. This is the duty of the 
people here, and the 'News' expects in good time to see all the 
energies of the people concentrated upon the great work of recu- 
peration and restoration. Will this expectation meet disappoint- 
ment? Knowing this people for nearly sixty years, the 'News' 
answers, No." 

Colonel John D. Rogers was at Toronto, Out., when the big 
storm swept Galveston. He and Colonel D. C. Giddings, of 
Brenham, have gone North together for a vacation every summer 
for several years past, and this year they picked Toronto as the 
place of recreation. As soon as the news of the storm reached 
them they started for Texas, and Colonel Rogers arrived on 
Friday, the 14th. 



470 RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 

To a gentleman wlio called on him and asked for an expres- 
sion of his views as to the futnre, ind his intentions as to the 
various properties he is interested in, Colonel Rogers talked most 
hopefully and confidently : 

"So far as property losses are concerned," said he, "I suspect 
I have lost about as heavily as any men in Galveston in propor- 
tion to the property I own here. But this constitutes no reason 
why I should be discouraged. I felt that way even before I 
reached Galveston. Colonel Giddings, from the newspaper 
accounts of the storm, doubted somewhat that Galveston would 
come again. But I told him Galveston was bound to be restored. 
I told him I didn't believe the wharves were gone ; no man who 
knows anything of the construction of wharves could have 
believed that story. I told him tha^ „he maintenance of Galveston 
as a port for the west was imperatively necessary, and that if the 
people of Galveston laid down and got off the island, other people 
would come here and build up a city. 

RESUMING BUSINESS. 

"A week in Galveston has made me still more confident that 
I was right in my conclusion. The work done during the past 
week has been wonderful, and within another week, I believe, 
every kind of business will be going on as before. We are again 
ready to receive cotton, and I have instructed our shippers to 
send it in. Before this business season is over we will be doing 
as much business as ever before, and before twelve months have 
passed our buildings will be restored. 

"I know that croakers will say that this cannot be done, but 
the croaker will never rise in any country. I don't believe in 
croakers. I believe with "The News," that this storm has indis- 
putably proven that the island will not wash away. If that 
storm, the severest in the history of the world, did not wash the 
island away, nothing ever will eliminate it from the map. And! 
it is not conceivable that another storm of that severity will erer 
strike again in this spot. The flood of the Brazos river, in last 
July, was unprecedented. 



RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 471 

"There had never been sucli a flood before, and there bad 
never been an overflow of that river in the month of July in all 
the history of the State. Again, the previous rises of the river 
had been gradual, but in July, 1899, the river rose two and a half 
feet in one night. All of that was very unusual, and it is 
improbable that it will ever be repeated. The storm at Galveston 
was likewise very unusual. The waters came from the bay and 
Gulf simultaneously, and met on the island. They did not go 
up Buffalo bayou, as they did in 1875, when lives were lost at 
Lynchburg. 

"A great deal of the loss of life has been due to flimsiness of 
many houses put up here in recent years for rent. The lesson 
which Galveston has received is a terrible one, but it will lead to 
safer and better buildings. It is true that some good buildings 
were wrecked by the jamming of wreckage from flimsy buildings, 
but the fact that we have many buildings standing unharmed, 
proves that we can build enduring structures. 

GREAT DETERMINATION. 

''I have given my attention since coming home to the resto- 
ration of the Gulf City compress and other property in which I 
am interested. We are going right ahead, with greater deter- 
mination, to increase our business and to build up the city." 

" I am glad to see you alive " is the greeting with which a 
Galvestonian now meets his fellow-citizen on the rubbish blocked 
streets of the once proud city by the Texas coast. Those who 
have not been here can not realize what it is to a man to meet a 
friend alive, or to find a relative who since Saturday has been 
missing from the huddled few remaining who are gathered in 
some desolated, wrecked and wind torn building, which but a week 
ago was a happy home of happy people. 

When a drama has .finished, the curtain falls, and as the 
orchestra plays some popular air the audience makes its way to 
the street, talking for a few moments of the characters and the 
scenes, but shutting out from mind, with the falling of the curtain, 
the happiness and the pain which was depicted b}*- moving char- 



472 RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 

acters wTio but represented a story of man's imaginative mind. 
Not so with this. 

No curtain can be drawn and the stage remains ever before 
them. They have it now as a desolate picture to gaze upon, and 
they will have it forever, wander where they will upon this earth's 
surface. No curtain can force it from the mind, and no effort can 
efface it from the tablets of memory. Many of the actors in this 
'^reat drama are not here. Some of them yet remain, and their 
stories are stranger than fiction which Jules Verne or Dumas have 
written. 

Amid the smoke of battle, when men meet men in armed con- 
flict, and thousands fall beneath the leaden hail, there is time 
tak^u to make a trench and consign to a resting place the bodies 
of the fallen thousands, and the chaplain has his moment to ask 
a merciful God to receive His own. Not so with this. No trench 
can be made for those people who have been found where the angry 
waters threw them up, where the falling timbers caught them, or 
where they are floating on the waters of a waved lashed shore. 

QUICK WORK NEEDED. 

They are disposed of, not as humanity wovild direct, or as 
sentiment dictates, but as necessity demands, and it is not with 
the accompaniment of a clergyman's prayer, or the simple words 
of the man of the cloth, that " God has given and God has taken 
away, blessed be the name of the Lord ; earth to earth, dust to 
dust and ashes to ashes." Bodies have been consigned to that 
element which destroyed the vitality of the material — the water 
and the waves which came from the storm tossed Gulf of Mexico 
to invade the portion of land which nature set aside for the habi- 
tation of man. 

This could not be continued for long. The conception of 
man's mind, which first suggested this disposition, proved to be 
wise judgment in the first emergency, but nature's laws prevented 
a continuance of the plan, and it became necessary to turn to a 
quicker and more convenient method, as the decomposition which 
fast began a destruction of the mortal, rendered handling impos 



RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 473 

sible Cremation was then resorted to, and without tlie facilities 
of science to assist, tlie destruction of the remains was affected 
by using burning debris, upon the places where the corpses were 

found. 

Humanity may think this is terrible and sentiment may 
revolt at this story, but that humanity and that sentiment is not 
to be found in Galveston. Here the people have thrown aside 
custom and formalities, all men are equal and that equality 
extends throughout the whole city. No custom of dress, no 
formality of appearance and no false modesty enters into one's 
mind Men and women cover their nakedness with what they 
can procure from neighbors, from friends or from the relief com- 
mittee or what perchance was saved from the wreckage of their 
own homes, and they proceed with the work of looking after their 
own, their friends and their neighbors, as necessity demands 
All people are neighbors here and all have a common interest. 

NEW CHART OF BAY NEEDED. 

A phenomenal thing has occurred in the bay. There are 
now bars there which have never before been seen. They are 
across from the Twenty-fifth street wharf and from the 
Twentieth street wharf. There may be others, bu^ these 
two long ridges of sand have been noticed by the ^^bserv- 
ing men who know the bay front as well as they knov- any- 
thing, and it is possible that when the water is sounded quite a 
number of these will be found in various places. It may require 
a new chart of the bay to determine the damage, and until this is 
done the greatest care must be exercised in moving about the 

harbor. 

Those who live away from here will have an idea ot the 
wreckage when it is stated that within an area bounded by Thir- 
teenth street on the west, the end of the island on the east, the 
Gulf on the 'south and Broadway on the north, there is not a 
standing house. Between Broadway and Postof&ce street and 
between Thirteenth street and the end of the island there is not 
a house standing. In the territory south of avenue K and east 



474 RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 

Tremoiit street all the way to the Denver resurvey there is not a 
house standing. There are other portions of the city which are 
in a similar condition, but it is impossible to tell them now. 

The Sealy hospital was first reported as having been blown 
away, but it survived the storm in a most remarkable manner, 
notwithstanding the fact that it is situated where the raging;^ 
waters were the highest. With the exception of broken window 
panes, a damaged ceiling and a good drenching of a number of 
the rooms, with their contents, it is virtually unharmed. The 
nurses' home, \vhicli stood opposite the infirmary and was used in 
conjunction with it, was completely demolished, but with no loss 
of life. 

There was no loss of life among the regular inmates of the 
hospitals. A number died during the storm, but they had been 
brought in in a dying condition. 

CLOTHED ONE THOUSAND. 

One thing developed by the storm that has not been com- 
mented upon is the manner in which the so-called "society men" 
have taken hold of things. They have worked like Trojans, every 
one of them, and have proven that the wearing of good and fash- 
ionably cut garments is no evidence of lack of manhood. Some 
of the first to go out in charge of gangs of men clearing away the 
debris and burying the bodies were the young fellows one meets 
at cotillions and fashionable functions. To-day their fair skins 
are cracked and burned with sun and wind, their hands blistered 
and burned, and their clothes covered with mud and slime. They 
glory in their young manhood, and are not one bit ashamed to go 
about with their colarless negligee shirt open at the neck, or their 
sleeves rolled up. Some of them have not shaved since the storm, 
and look more like subjects for charity than many who apply for 
relief 

One young man, who probably clothed one thousand people 
in two days, is going around in a very much soiled, borrowed shirt. 
His home was destroj'-ed, and all the clothes he saved he had on 
his back at the time. He has not had time to buy new clothing, 



RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 475 

althougli lie lias probably clotlied one thousand people. He would 
as soon liave stolen as to have taken one of the nice clean shirts 
he was giving away. Besides, it never occurred to him. 

Mr. J. Martin, one of the refugees at Houston, who passed 
through the storm at Galveston all right, save a gash in the head, 
a black eye, a mashed nose, and a sprained arm and leg, says 
that on the night of the storm he sought shelter in six different 
houses. As the last of these houses in turn succumbed to the 
force of the hurricane, Mr. Alartin was plunged into the dark and 
angry waters, amid its splintering ruins. Numerous times, he said, 
falling timbers would knock him unconscious for a few moments, 
and after regaining his senses he would be so full of water, so 
exhausted and weak from his desperate exertions and loss of 
blood, that he felt like giving up all hope and allowing the water 
to draw him under and relieve him of his sufferings. 

FOR A MOTHER'S LOVE. 

He says he saw other men who were physically stronger 
than he do that very thing. Still he would not give up and he 
struggled on. He had no wife or child to live for — there* was just 
one person in the world whom he fondly loved, and that was his 
mother. Every time, he says, that he decided to let himself go 
down beneath the water and drown his mother's face would appear 
before his vision. Clearly and distinctly he could see the look of 
reproach in her eyes at his threatened weakness, and each time 
this vision would spur him to greater effort, and he would battle 
on until he reached another place of safety. 

Finally, when the storm had spent its fury and he crawled 
into a place of safety, he drifted into unconsciousness and remained 
in that condition until late Sunday evening. Mr. Martin says 
that his mother lives in New York and he knew she was safe, but 
says had it not been for the image of her face which constantly 
appeared before him he certainly would never have lived to tell 
his experience. 

There are no better hearted people in the world than the 
Americans. Not a case of genuine suffering or honest and 



476 RELIEF TRAINS AND HOSPITALS. 

unavoidable misfortune need ever go long without generous 
assistance in any part of tHe United States, if only tlie people know 
that it is a proper case for their sympathy. And this is true 
whether the misfortune be an individual and private or a public 
calamity. 

The papers in all parts of the country, without exception, 
called the attention of their readers to the destructiveness of the 
hurricane in Texas, expressed their profound sympathy with the 
sufferers and urged instant relief measures. There never was a 
more general manifestation of popular solicitude, or a readier or 
more widespread response to an appeal for assistance. 

And yet this is the American rule in such cases. The 
humblest and the highest give and give quickly. Nothing is too 
good for the unfortunate when it is known that their misfortune 
could not be warded off and that they are left utterly helpless. 

It makes us love our country better when we find it has such 
a people within its borders. We regain the confidence in mankind 
which may have been shattered in sordid every day business. We 
feel that .down in the heart, the good impulses remain, and that 
only something a little out of the ordinary is necessary to reveal 
(to slightly paraphrase Goldsmith) that 

To relieve the wretched is our pride, 
And e'en our failings lead to virtue's side. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Une Hero Rescues Over Two Hundred — Traveler Caught 

in the Rush of Water— Report of a Government 

Official— How the Great Storm Started. 

T^HERE are many people who are composed of the material 
^ that constitutes a hero, but the majority pass through the 
time allotted to th.em on earth without having the opportunity of 
demonstrating the fact to the world. On the night that the awful 
catastrophe visited the city of Galveston few were those who had 
not this opportunity presentc^d to them. 

Of course there were some who failed to develop this cpiality. 
The every effort of these was directed with the one supreme 
purpose of self preservation. Others there were who devoted 
their services unreservedly to the helpless and in consequence 
their names will never be forgotten by those whom they preserved 
from a watery grave. 

Sc:ne of the deeds of this nobler class will never be known — 
not even after the relentless sea gives up all its dead. There is 
one name, however, which will be recorded and preserved in the 
memory of some as long as that never to be forgotten night of 
the hurricane at Galveston is remembered by the sons of men. 
That name will be taught by mothers to their children in the age 
to come as thenar " of one possessed of undying courage and 
heroism. 

The name is tnat of Zachery Scott, a young medical student 
who was at St. Mary's Infirmary at Galveston on the fateful night. 
Alone and single-handed Mr. Scott rescued over 200 souls from 
the very jaws of death. St. Mary's Infirmary is composed of a 
large brick building and several wooden structures, and the latter 
were entirely destroyed by the fury of the wind and the water. In 
the wooden buildings were nearly 200 patients who Avere too sick 
and weak to battle against the elements and the raging storm, 

477 



478 SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH. 

besides a score of the sisters who were at the time acting as 
nurses. 

When the water began to rise, Mr. Scott, who was in the 
brick building, went over to where these patients were quartered 
and soon returned, through water waist deep, with one in his 
arms. Over 200 times he performed this feat, although before 
the task was completed the water between the two buildings was 
over six feet in depth. 

Back and forth, during all the stormy night, he went and 
every time he returned another soul was saved from a dreadful 
fate. When the storm was at its height, the debris was flying in 
all directions, the resistless waters carrying people on to destruc- 
tion and when he was weak and weary from his exertions, the 
inmates of the brick building begged him not to attempt the feat 
again. But still, with a dauntless courage born of devotion, he 
never faltered in his duty, and every person in the doomed build- 
ing was taken to a place of safety. Such courage, devotion and 
heroism deserves a place side by side with that of the greatest 
heroes who ever lived. 

A MARVELLOUS ESCAPE. 

Harry Van Baton, a well known traveling salesman for Teni- 
son Bros., Dallas, was in the midst of the disaster, but saved his 
life in a marvellous manner. 

" It was the worst trial of my life," he said with a shudder. 
" I shall never forget its horrors. I arrived in Galveston Satur- 
day morning and immediately went to the beach with a party of 
us and for a while had a good time in bathing. Bit the waves soon 
became furious and we were notified by the lif^ saving crew ' to 
get out of the water as there was danger coming.' 

''Luckily we ©beyed their command, for when we had dressed, 
the waves were enormous. We had to wade waist deep in water 
before we reached the Tremont Hotel. The wind kept increasing 
and at this stage of the game I began to realize something awful 
was going to happen. 

" At eight o'clock that night the wind must have been going 



SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH. 479 

a hundred mile an hour gait and it was about this time that the 
roof of the hotel gave away and the sky-light fell in on the thou- 
sand or more people who were there. I walked through three or 
four feet of water to reach the front door. 

" There was a regular mill-race rushing past the door and I 
"t'^as caught in it, but b}^ God's help and by expert swimming 1 
managed to reach the mainland. 

" It was a terrible experience ; whirling by me were hundreds 
of bodies, more than I dared to count, crushed and mangled 
between timbers and debris. Men, women and children sinking, 
floating and dashing on, many to an instant death. I also passed 
many dead horses and cattle. How it all ended, that I reached 
safety, I hardly know ; but I kept my presence of mind and by 
God's help was saved." 

PERILS OF A RELIEF TRAIN. 

One of the passengers on the first relief train that went out 
of Houston on Saturday evenings during the prevalence of* the 
storm, to bring the people in from La Porte and Seabrook, gives 
the following description of the trip : 

" Little did we know what trials were before us as we started 
out for La Porte and Seabrook at 8 o'clock on that fatal Saturda}^ 
night. But we did know our loved ones were in danger, and with 
a brave volunteer crew in charge of the train, and trusting to the 
good God above to care for us, we started, hoping for the best. 

"The first obstacle that impeded our progress was a pine 
tree of about two feet in diameter across the track. This was 
soon cut in two and we journeyed along, the wind almost blowing 
the train off the track. We had gone only a few miles further 
when we collided with two box cars that had been blown from the 
switch to the main track. 

"After a considerable delay we started again, engine crippled, 
and everybody wet as water could make them. At Pasadena we 
took on board several men, ladies and children, who had been 
standing waist deep in water for several hours. Soon Deep Water 
was reached. Here two ladies got off and were carried to the 



480 SI^ATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH. 

residence of Mr. W. E. Jones. Tlie train liad just started again 
when tlie depot blew away, part of it against our train, breaking 
the windows and blinds of the coacb and throwing glass all over 
us. Luckily no one was hurt. 

"We bad now been three hours coming twelve miles, and we 
all began to grow more uneasy. It was at this point where we 
first felt or knew what a jtorm we were in. The coaches rocked 
like cradles, windows blew in, and it seemed that we would be 
blown away ourselves. After two hours more we reached East 
La Porte. There most of our companions left us to look for their 
people. It did not seem that anyone could live in that storm — 
the wind must have been blowing lOO miles an hour. But our 
friends knew that they were needed at their homes, and they 
launched out. Some to be blown back to us, only to try it over 
again ; others to be blown in the mud and water. 

DIFFICULTIES OF A TRAIN. 

"After a considerable delay the train started on. At West 
La Porte we found the depot blown across our way. All went to 
work cutting and moving timbers, and with the assistance of the 
wind, we soon had the track clear. We now had but one more 
serious place to get across before we could get to Seabrook. At 
last we reached it, and were in a few minutes across Taylor's 
bayou, which we found to be a half mile wide and the waves four 
feet high. This bayou, in ordinary weather, is about fifty feet 
wide. On reaching Seabrook we found the depot full of refugees, 
houses all gone, water over everything. Some of the families of 
our companions on the way were lost, never to be seen alive 
again. 

" Here we started out to work in earnest and it was only a very 
short time before we had everyone that was without a home on 
board. By this time the train crew had fires in the coaches and 
and we served coffee, cheese and bread to the hungry ones, and 
made them as comfortable as possible. We still had lots of work 
to do, though, and we were looking for it when a man appeared 
on the scene, reporting Judge Tod's barn had blown down on two 



SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH. 481 

ladies aud several children. We went to work to get tlieiii out, 
and after three hours' work we rescued all alive except the mother 
She probabl}' could have saved herself, but she gave up her li: 
for the children. She was found in a position leaning over theix 
protecting them. 

"Finally day came and we could now see what damage the 
storm had done. Mr. Hamilton's house was the only one left in 
the flats, and most of the houses on the ridge were blown to 
pieces. It was a miracle that more lives were not lost. 

"We gathered up everyone who wanted to come and left for 
Houston at 9:30 A. M. Sunda}^, and arrived at Houston about 12 
t)' clock ; our journey lasting eighteen hours, was over. The gen- 
llemen on the train who had families at La Porte and Seabrook 
are under lasting obligations to the Southern Pacific officials and 
especiall}'- to the train crew. No braver crew ever went out with 
a train, and we wish to tender them our earnest and sincere 
thanks. Courage and manly conduct have always been lauded 
by the world, and no men ever stood more nobly to duty on battle 
grounds than did these men who ran the relief train in the full 
fury of the storm to the search for the wave-tossed people of La 
Porte and Seabrook." 

As showing the immediate demand for laborers, the following 
advertisement inserted in the " Houston Post," will be of interest : 

WANTED AT GALVESTON IMMEDIATELY. 

" 24 plasterers, $4.50 per day and board paid; 30 bricklayers, 
1^5.50 per day and board paid ; 25 tinners, $3.50 per day and board 
paid ; 100 laborers, $2.00 per day and board paid." 

The old saying that it is an ill wind that blows good to no 
one is illustrated in this advertisement. Probably never before 
in any Texas city were workmen offered wages so high. 

Colonel Walter Hudnall, the representative of the Treasury 
Department of the Government, who was sent from San Antoni 
to Galveston, to investigate the conditions and report completea 
his work. 

Colonel Hudnall spent several days in the stricken city. He 

31 



482 SNATCHED FROM THL jAVVS OF DEATH. 

came prepared for the worst, but wlien he saw what actually had 
occurred, he threw up his hauds in amazement. No man, in his 
opinion, can form an estimate of the loss of life and propert}^ 
from the reports which have been sent out, and the extent of the 
devastation is be3^ond the grasp of human reason. He has made 
a canvass of the city mounted ; he has visited every place which 
'a man could on a horse, and he has made a complete investigation 
of the conditions as they exist. 

He knew Galveston as she was before being struck by the 
storm, and he knows her as she is to-da}^ In his report to the 
Treasury Department, he will say that no man can estimate the 
propert}^ loss in the city, and that it is his opinion that any one 
attempting to make such an estimate will miss it by $10,000,000; 
the idea of making any estimate of propert}^ loss appears to him 
■ndiculous. 

MAYOR JONES' STATEMENT AND APPEAL. 

Of the loss of life, Colonel Hudnrll believes that it will be 
between 6000 and 8000, and he will so report. He will say that 
he does not believe that it is possible for it to be less than 6000 
lives, and he would not be surprised should it be 8000. He calls 
attention to the fact that in places there are from forty to sixty 
solid squares of ground swept clean as a parlor floor, as far as 
standing buildings are concerned. Colonel Hudnall does not 
believe disease will result if the proper sanitary precautions ar^ 
taken, and this is being done as fast as the laborers can distribute 
the quicklime and carbolic acid. 

As he was leaving he was asked regarding his idea of the 
future of -Galveston. He said : " If the expression of the people 
who live here is to be my guide in forming an opinion I will sa}- 
that Galveston will be rebuilt and will be a prosperous city. 
There is no doubt that the property owners expect to go to work 
repairing the damage as far as they can. 

"There has been a great deal said about martial law," con- 
tinued the colonel. "The city is yet under the control of the 
mayor, and civil law is in force. The soldiers are being*- used 



SNATCHED FROM THE jAWS OF DEATH. 488 

simply to enforce the civil law and to maintain a discipline which 
is necessary tinder the disturbed conditions. The soldiers do not 
work a hardship on an 3^ one." 

A statement and an appeal addressed to the American people, 
signed by Mayor Jones and members of the Relief Committee, 
and endorsed b}' Governor Sa3n-es, was issued September 25th. It 
set forth in detail the extent of the disaster which overtook the 
city, in part as follows : 

"Seventeen days after the storm at Galveston it is still 
impossible to accurately estimate the loss of life and propert3\ It 
is known that the dead in the city will number at least one sixth 
of the census population. The island and adjacent mainland will 
add perhaps 2000 to this number. Actual propert3^ damage is 
incalculable in precise terms, but we have the individual losses, 
and losses in public property, such as paving, water works, schools, 
hospitals, churches, etc., which will easily amount to $30,000,000. 
This estimate takes no account of the direct and indirect injur^^ to 
business. Along the beachfront upwards of 2600 houses, by actual 
map count, were totally destroyed. Moreover, we estimate that 973^ 
per cent, of the remaining houses throughout the cit3^ were dam- 
aged in greater or less degree. In fact none entirel3^ escaped." 

CONFRONTED BY A GREATER PROBLEM. 

vjrrateful thanks are extended for the help received, and the 
address continues : '' But a greater and a graver work confronts 
us. Some kinds of homes, be the3^ ever so humble, must be 
provided for the 10,000 people now huddled in ruined houses, 
public places and improvised camps, to the end that they ma3^ not 
.become paupers, but may speedily set up their households 
wherein repose all that is best and noblest in American life. We 
believe that the well to do and the charitable people of this nation 
will not be contented to merely appease hunger and bind up 
bruises, but will in very large measure and with more far reach- 
ing effect contribute to the restoration of this people to a plane of 
self support and self respect. It is for this purpose that we make 
this further appeal." 



484 SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH. 

Mi.^'.s Clara Barton also endorsed the appeal, sajang : "Could 
the people of our generous country see as I have seen in its 
dreadful realit}' the desolation and the destruction of homes b}' 
thousands, the overwhelming bereavement in the loss of neai and 
dear ones, and the utter helplessness that confronts those remain- 
ing, the appeal of Mayor Jones for continued help would meet with 
such a response as no other calamity has ever known." 

REVIE^A^ING THE SITUATION. * 

Revif^wing the situation in Galveston, a correspondent .om 
municates the following : "On Sunday following the storm all 
saloons were closed by order of the Mayor. On the following 
Sunday several saloouists began selling liquor on the quiet. They 
were arrested and taken before Adjutant General Scurry, who 
warned them the}^ must not repeat the offense. A prominent 
saloon man was arrested for disobeying the order and was put to 
work in a street cleaning gang. Dr. Donaldson, chief surgeon of 
one of the relief corps, says it will not be necessary for the out- 
side surgeons to remain here longer than two or three days more. 
He has written an article for a medical journal commenting upon 
the comparatively small number of seriousl}^ wounded and sick 
persons. He explains the absence of a large number of seriously 
vounded persons b}^ sa3dng that most of those so wounded were 
irowned, but says it is surprising that more people, especially 
vvomen and children, did not get sick from such trying experi- 
ences. 

" Efforts are being made to open the public schools on 
October i, the date set before the storm for their opening. Three 
of the school buildings can be made usable at slight cost and it 
s planned to hold two sessions a day. 

" The estimated losses to the life insurance companies ? 
Galveston are about $500,000. Most of those who carried old lin ,■ 
life policies escaped. The fraternal orders will lose quite 
b.tavily. 

"The Gulf Port Trading Company addressed a letter to Gen- 
eral Manager Polk of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe railway, 



SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS O't DP:ATH. 485 

advising him that strenuous efforts were being made to divert busi- 
ness from Galveston to other ports on representation that Galveston 
M^ould be unable to take care of the shipments. He was asked to 
say whether his line would issue domestic and foreign bills of 
lading for export shipments through Galveston. Colonel Polk 
replied that the representations were entirely false ; that it is 
expected to have rail communication open to Galveston very soon 
and to begin the delivery of local and export freight here Frida}' 
morning the 21st ; that orders have already been issued to super- 
intendents to let Galveston freight come forward and Ithat agents 
have been authorized to accept freight for Galveston and sign 
dome'stic and foreign bills of lading as usual. 

A PECULIAR CONDITION. 

*The wheat in elevator 'A' is being turned over and put in 
shape to deliver to vessels. There were about 1000 cars of wheat 
on track here and most of these show a peculiar condition on 
inspection. It appears that in nearly all of them there is a foot 
of wheat on the bottom to which the water rose. It was salt water 
and the wheat caked so hard that the 'tryer' used by the inspector 
will not penetrate it. The grain above this water line appears 
not to have been damaged. The good grain was being transferred 
by hand to other cars and that on the bottom will probably go to 
distilleries or some other places. A number of grain exporters, 
in fact, all who do business through this port, have written letters 
of sympathy and express themselves as having confidence in the 
ability of the Galveston people to care for their wheat in the best 
manner. 

" Hanna & Leonard's new elevator has started. It was about 
completed before the storm, little damaged during the storm, and 
lias been completed since the storm in order to handle tlie grain 
and put such as is out of condition into condition for export. 

" A census bureau has been established and placed in opera- 
tion. A mortuary bureau has also been opened where relatives 
and friends make oath of the known death of persons lost in the 
storm. These bureaus will greatly assist in securing an accurate 



486 SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH. 

estimate of the loss of life. The clearing of debris in the streets 
proper has progressed and the spirit of rehabilitating the city is 
seen in every business. The military forces are accomplishing 
wonders, and the prediction is made that Galveston will assume 
normal conditions in a week. Resumption of trade in every 
channel is apparent. But five arrests and court martial trials is 
the record for the past week (the second after the flood) since Gen- 
eral Scurry assumed control of the cit3^ 

" Insurance Inspector J. G. Youens has begun to go over the 
town to make a detailed report of the houses destro3^ed. Up to 
date he has covered the district bounded on the north by East 
Broadwa}^, on the east and south by the Gulf, and on the west by 
Fourteenth street. In these fortj'-five blocks he found destroyed 
an average of sixteen houses to the block. The fire insurance 
companies are arranging to refund a pro rata on policies on houses 
and furniture where the same have been entirely destroyed by the 
hurricane, and the holders thereof want them cancelled." 

DR. YOUNG'S GRAPHIC STORY. 

The following very interesting account of the beginning of 
the great Galveston storm and graphic story of his experience was 
prepared by Dr. S. O. Young : 

" Tuesday morning, September 4, I was standing near the sig- 
nal service officer who makes the weather bureau map each day for 
the Cotton Exchange. This is simply a large blackboard on which 
is painted a map of the United States. Wherever the bureau has 
a signal station the readings of the barometer, thermometer, direc- 
tion and force of the wind and rainfall are recorded on this map, 
different colors of chalk being used to indicate each. 

" When the observation at Key West was recorded I saw that 
the barometer was low, that the wind was from the northeast, and' 
the map as a whole showed pretty plainl}^ cyclonic disturbances to 
the south or southeast of Key West. There was a region of high 
baron-; eter over Pennsylvania and New York, shading gradually 
down te Key West and presumably far to the south of that point, 
while there was another region of higli barometer over Colorado, 



SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OK DEATH. -18-J 

with a cuiiiparatively low barometer between the two, all shading 
toward low the further south the records were made. 

" I remarked to the observer who was making the map tiiat 
the Key West record, backed by the map as a whole, showed pretty 
plainly that tliere was a cyclone forming. He agreed with me, 
but said his office had received no notice of anything of the kind. 
Wednesday afternoon the tide in the Gulf was high and the water 
was rough, though there was no wind to cause the disturbance. 
Thursday afternoon the tide was again high and the water very 
rough, while the atmosphere had that peculiar hazy appear- 
ance that generally precedes a storm, thougb not to a marked 
degree. 

" The wind was from the north, and during the night was 
rather brisk. Friday the wind was from the north, and as night 
came on it increased in violence. The tide v/as very high and the 
Gulf very rough, though as a rule with a north wind the tide is 
low and the Gulf as smooth, as the bay. I was then confident 
that a cyclone was approaching us and accounted for the high tide 
by assuming that the storm was moving toward the northwest or 
against the Gulf stream, thus piling up the water in the Gulf 

KNEW CYCLONE WAS COMING. 

" For my own satisfaction, and at the request of my friends, 
1 constructed a chart, outlining roughly the origin, development 
and probable course of the cyclone. From the Key West obser- 
vation and the map of Tuesday I assumed that the center of dis- 
turbance was originally somewhere south of Cnba ; that it moved 
to the northwest as cyclones always do at first, and that the storm 
had developed into a cyclone in the neighborhood of Yucatan ; 
would move to the northwest and strike somewhere near the 
mouth of the Mississippi, going thence to the northeast and pass- 
ing into the Atlantic ocean off the New England coast. The 
error I made was in placing its course too far east. 

" My residence was within two blocks of the beach, so I had 
ample opportunity to observe the Gulf Friday night there was 
a strong wind from the nortli, and Saturday morning, about 6 



488 SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH, 

o'clock, I went to tlie beach. I saw that the tide was high, but 
that it had fallen again and was then at a stand. While I was 
out there the tide began to rise again, and soon washed up to and 
over the street railway track near the Olympia. I was certain 
then we were going to have a cyclone, and so soon as I could get 
to town I telegraphed to my wife, who, with my children, was on 
'a Southern Pacific train coming from the West, to stop in San 
Antonio. I told her that a great storm was on us, but not to say 
anything about it and not to feel anxious about me. 

" By 12 o'clock the wind had increased in violence to between 
40 and 50 miles an hour, blowing from the north, and the water, 
both in the bay and Gulf, was very high and still rising. At i 
o'clock I visited the wharf front. The wind had shifted a point 
or two to the east of north, and was over fifty miles an hour. 
The bay water was over the wharves and was slowly encroaching 
on the Strand. All low places were completely inundated. 

LARGE BUILDINGS FLOATED PAST. 

'" Jr^'rom the bay I went to the Gulf side, and found the tide 
very high and the water very rough. At 2 o'clock I concluded 
to go home and look after things there. My residence was on 
the northeast corner of avenue P^ and Bath avenue. As both 
Vy^ and Bath avenues were low at that point, my sidewalk had 
been curbed up about four feet and the whole lot raised four or 
five feet above the level of the street. When I got home I found 
about two feet of water on my lot. I sat on my front gallery and 
watched the water. It rose gradually until the third step was 
under water, when it apparently stopped rising and for over an 
hour remained stationary. 

"My house, a large two-story frame building, stood on brick 
pillars about four feet high, so I had no fear of the water coming 
into the house. I dismissed a negro bo}^ I had with me, went 
inside and proceeded to secure the windows and door&, and to 
make ever3^tliing ship-shape before dark, for I felt pretty sure the 
electric lights would all be knocked out. 

"At 4 o'clock the water was two feet deep on tny ground 



SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH. 489 

floor, and was rising gradually. The wind had hanled further to 
the east and was blowing at a terrific rate. I moved my chair 
near the window and watched the water as it flowed down avenue 
'P}4 to the west at a terrific rate, carrying wretched shanties, 
boxes, barrels, wooden cisterns and everything else that fell in 
its power. The flow was almost exactly from east to west, just 
as the streets run, for a box or barrel that passed my bouse, in 
the middle of the street, kept the same position as far as I could 
see it. 

''Between 5 and 6 o'clock the wind became almost due east 
and increased in violence. The debris fairly flew past, so rapid 
had the tide become. At twenty minutes to 6 o'clock (I am exact 
because I noticed my large clock had stopped, and wound it up 
and set it by my watch) there was a marked increase in the vio- 
lence of the wind. I went to a west window to watcb a fence I 
had been using as a marker on the tide, and while I was looking, 
I saw the tide suddenly rise fully four feet at one bound. In a 
few minutes several houses on the south side of P^, between 
Tw^enty-fifth and Twenty-sixth, went to pieces and floated away, 
and the debris from a number of large buildings began to float 
past from the east. 

THE ROAR WAS AWFUL. 

' It was then getting dark very rapidly. I turned on my 
lamps, but, as I had anticipated, there was no electricity. I had 
found a candle and lit that, then I thought I had best save it, so 
I blew it out, got a comfortable arm-chair and made myself as 
comfortable as possible. Being entirely alone, with no respon- 
sibility on me, I felt satisfied and very complacent, for I was fool 
enough not to be the least afraid of wind or water. 

" About 7.30 o'clock I heard heavy thumping against the 
cast side of ni}^ house, and concluded it was downstairs in one of 
the lower bed rooms. I lit the candle and went to the stairs, and 
found the water was very nearly up to the top of them. I put the 
candle down, went to the front door and opened it. In a second I 
was blown back into the hall. I eased myself along the east side, 



490 SNATCHED FROM TF^E JAWS OF DEATH. 

caught the door knob, then the side of the door on the gaiiery 
and drew myself out far enough to catch hold of a blind, and, 
clinging with both hands, I drew myself out on the gallery and 
stood there. The scene was the grandest I ever witnessed. It 
was impossible to face the wind, which had now increased to fully 
loo miles an hour, and drove sheets of spray and rain, which 
were blinding. 

"The roar was something awful. I could see to the right and 
to the left, and, so far as I could see, only my house and that of 
my next door neighbor, Mr. Youens, were left standing. All the 
others were gone, and we were left practically out in the Gulf of 
Mexico. About two minutes after I got on the gallery, I saw Mr. 
Youens' house begin to move forward. It turned partly around 
and then seemed to hang as if suspended. Suddenly the wind 
switched to the south by east, and increased in violence. Mr. 
Youens' house rose like a huge steamboat, was swept back and 
suddenly disappeared. I knew that he had his family with him, 
his wife, sou and two daughters, and my feelings were indescriba- 
ble as I saw them go. 

POSTS BLOWN AWAY LIKE STRAWS. 

"The new position of the wind audits increased violence 
cstused a sudden rise in the water, and at one bound it reached 
my second-story and poured in my door, which was exactly thirty- 
one feet above the level of the street. The wind again increased. 
It did not come in gusts, but was more like the steady downpour 
of Niagara than anythiug I can think of One of the front posts 
on my gallery blew out, split my head open and mashed my shoul- 
der badly. I was knocked insensible for a moment, but pulled 
myself together and hung on. 

" The constant shaking and jarring had loosened the front 
door facing, and I saw I could tear it loose from the top when the 
crasli came, so I kept hold of it all the time. I had outlined a 
plan of campaign from the first and carried it out to the letter. 
The other posts and railing of the gallery blew away like straws. 
The top of the gallery was lifted up and disappeared over the top 



SNATCHED FROM THK JAWS OF DEATH. 4'JI 

of the house. The gallery floated away, and, with one foot inside 
the door, I was left hanging against the front of the house. It 
was an easy thing to stay there, for the wind held me as firmly as 
if I had been screwed to he thouse. 

•^ It is hard to believe, but still it is true. A little after S 
o'clock the wind actually increased in violence. I am confident I 
do not exaggerate one bit when I say it was blowing fully 125 
miles an hour. I could see into the hall, and saw a beautiful 
phenomenon when the wind was at its height. Whether from 
phosphorescence of the sea water or from electricity generated by 
the high wind, I can't say, but, from whatever cause it was, the 
drops of rain became luminous as they struck the wall, and it 
looked like a display of miniature fireworks. The luminous par- 
ticles were about the size of a pin head, though one ball about 
half as large as a bo3''s marble, formed on the door facing and 
slowly slipped down into the water. 

WIND AT 125 MILES AN HOUR. 

" The wind at 125 miles an hour is something awful. I could 
neither hear nor see when it was at its height and it was difficult 
to breathe. I am nearly six feet in height and estimating the 
surface of my body exposed to the wind at five square feet, my 
body sustained at that time a pressure of 390 pounds. I began 
to think my house would never go. The wind acted as if it 
thought so, too, for it got harder and harder and harder until 
finally I felt the house yielding. I took a firm hold of my door 
facing, placed both feet against the house, exerted my full 
strength, tore the facing loose and as the house went kicked; 
myself as far away from it as possible, so as to avoid sunken 
debris rising to the surface. 

"The house rose out of the water several feet, was caught by 
the wind and whisped away like a railway train and I was left in 
perfect security, free from all floating timber or debris, to follow 
more slowly. The surface of the water was almost flat. The 
wind beat it down so that there was not even the suspicion of a 
wave. 



492 SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH. 

"T " current impelled by the wind was terrific. Almost before 
I had tei. "^ had fairly started I was over the Gartenverein, four 
blocks away. The next moment I was at the corner of the con- 
vent. Here I got in a big whirlpool and caught up with a lot of 
debris. I was carried round and round until I lost my bearings 
completely and was then floated off (as I found afterwards) to the 
northwest, finally landing in the middle of the street at Thirty- 
'fourth and M^^, or fifteen blocks from where I started. 

" It was very dark, but I could see the tops of some houses 
barely above the M^ater ; could see others totally wrecked and 
others half submerged. I knew it was not so very late and as I 
could not see a light or hear a human soul I concluded that the 
whole of that part of the town had been destroyed and that I was 
the only survivor. For eight hours I clung to my board, which 
had found a good resting place, and during the whole time I did 
not hear a human voice except that of a woman in the distance 
calling for help. 

NEARLY FROZEN TO DEATH. 

" The wind beat the rain on me and nearly froze me to death. 
I was never so cold in my life. I think I had at least a dozen 
good hard chills before the water fell sufficiently for me to wade 
to a house half a block away, a little elevated cottage of two 
rooms in which fifteen or twenty colored people, who forgot their 
own misery when they saw me bareheaded, covered with blood 
and shaking with cold. They pulled me in out of the rain, 
wrapped some half dry clothes about m}^ shoulders to get warmth 
in my body and for the moment forgot their own misery. 

"When daylight came two of the men piloted me to town, 
where I met a friend whose room had escaped destruction. He 
took me there, sent for a doctor, had my wounds dressed and by 
9 o'clock I was myself again and barring weakness from loss of 
t)lood was as well as ever. 

" In conclusion, I desire to say this of the storm. In my 
opinion it began south of Cuba, developed fully near Yucatan, 
caine to the northwest, landed west of Galveston, its center pass 



SNATCHED FROM THE jA\VS OF DEATH. 103 

ing south of Galveston between 6 and 7 o'clock Saturda}^ even- 
ing, and tliat it was from 200 to 300 miles in diameter. It passed 
to the northeast, going out of the United States over the great 
lakes through Canada and died out in the far North Atlantic. I 
liave seen absolutely no report of this storm, but this is my con- 
clusion from my observation." 

Said a citizen of Galveston : "It is not all tears in Galveston, 
not all sorrow. Hearts bowed down with grief are not heav}- all 
the time, and there are smiles and good cheer and heart}^ hand 
shakes with it all. Here is a sample of the conversation : 

" ' Hello, Bill, I'm glad to see you alive ! ' 

" 'Same to you, old man,' as they join hands in heart}' clasp. 

" ' How 'bout 3'our family ? ' 

'"All safe, thank God.' 

" ' I lost ni}^ little one, but the rest are safe. How's 3^our 
home ? 

'^ ' Gone : knocked into kindling wood, but that don't matter, 
as I saved my wife and children after a hard struggle.' 

TEARS IN MANY EYES. 

" And the two pass on, the one light hearted, the other a 
smile glistening in his tear dimmed eye, both glad for what was 
left them. I saw a telegram to a Galveston woman from a sister 
in Houston with whom she had hardly been on speaking terms 
for years. It read : 

" ' Are you safe ? Do you want any money ? Come up to 
Houston and live with us.' 

" Is there necessity of comment ? I saw neighbors who had 
been quarreling and saying spiteful things about each other for 
months, riding down the street in the same buggy, the most lov- ' 
ing chums in the world. I saw rival candidates for the same 
political office catch hold of opposite ends of the same log, and 
with a ' heave ho ! ' toss it up out of the way of wagons and pedes- 
trians, each doing the work for humanity's sake. 

"Social distinction is wiped out. I heard the banker tell his 
story of the storm to his stableman with as much vim and gusto 



494 SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH. 

as tlioiigh hobnobbing witli his heaviest depositor. White and 
colored stopped to make inquiries of each other and shake hands. 
I saw a blind mendicant, a continual object of charity, on the cor- 
ner of Twent3^-first and Market, and heard of hundreds upon 
hundreds of great, strong, useful men who went down with the 
flood. Life is stranger than fiction, but it does seem an ironical 
providence that saves the halt and the maimed and takes awaj^ 
the useful." 

Police Officer W. H. Plumraer is the happy possesser of a 
four-oared boat which he has christened " Cyclone Rescue," in 
honor of its work in the storm. The boat is constructed on the 
pattern of what is known as an Eastern pod, such as is used b}^ 
the lobster fishermen of Maine. The boat w^as built to withstand 
the rough seas, and was so constructed with two air-tight compart- 
ments as to be used as a lifeboat. This boat, with lashed oars, 
was kept by Officer Plummer in his yard, corner of Seventh and 
Church streets, one of the first districts to suffer from the invasion 
of the destructive Gulf on the fatal day of the storm. 

GRAND WORK OF RESCUE. 

When Captain Plummer went home to dinner on that da}^ the 
Gulf was rising very rapidly and the storm gave indications of 
greater severity. Having spent many years at sea. Captain 
Plummer called his two sons, who are sailors, and the three men 
launched the boat and started rescuing families in the neighbor^ 
hood, taking them to St. Mary's Infirmary. From noon until late 
that night the good boat and its faithful crew braved the terrific 
storm and are credited with having saved two hundred lives. On 
the last trip that night, with Captain Plummer almost helpless 
^from exhaustion and his sons fast succumbing to the terrible 
battle of the day, the boat suffered a slight mishap. She was 
struck by a piece of wreckage driven with great force into her 
side. But the boat held the water and landed her crew safel}^ at 
the Infirmar3^ 

Once, during the height of the storm, the boat, with seven on 
board, was capsized, but the experienced seamen soon had her 



SNATCHED FROM THK JAWS (M' DEATH. 495 

righted and baled, and all on board were saved. Captain Phinmier 
lost his home and ever3'thing bnt the scant clothes on his back, 
bnt he sa3's he wonldn't part with the "Cyclone Rescne " for its 
weight in gold. 

Some who were ont in the water from the time the lionses 
first began to go down drifted bnt a few hnndred feet, while others 
were carried miles b}^ the water. So it was with Miss Anna Delz, 
a 1 6-year old girl, who lived out in the west end near the beach. 
vSlie drifted a distance of over eighteen miles, landing not far from 
Texas Cit3\ She passed the bay bridge and hung for some time 
on one of the piling, then catching a piece of driftwood, continued 
her perilous journey, landing not far from her aunt's house on 
the mainland. 

STORY OF A PERILOUS TRIP. 

She tells the storj^ of her trip on the crest of the waves as 
tollows : 

" It was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon when I first realized 
that the storm was increasing. Together with a girl-friend who 
was in the house, I packed ni}' mother's trunk and carried all of 
the household goods that I could and piled them in the second 
story to keep them from being washed away by the water, which 
was rapidly rising. During this time the wind had been increas- 
ing in velocity all of the time. 

" At about 4 o'clock my mother and sister, who is 13 years of 
age, were taken to a place of refuge by a friend. A girl friend 
and myself were left, thinking that we would be safe, but it was 
not over an hour after that when the house went down. It went 
with a crash, and m3^self, together with the others in the house 
were thrown out into the furious waters. I caught onto a tree and 
stayed there for a little while, but was dashed off and sank under 
the water several times. While hanging on to the tree a roof 
came along, on which there were about twenty people, mostl}^ 
women and children. I got on with them and stayed there for 
some time, seeing my companions in distress being washed off 
one b}^ one, until at last there were only a young girl and myself 



496 SNATCHED FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH. 

left. Soon she went, and I was left alone to battle witli tlie waves. 
Soon I canglit a piece of driftwood and I think I floated out 
into the Gulf Then the wind changed and I began going the 
other way. I was tossed out into the bay at last, having passed 
during this time many people floating on drift of all kinds, and 
people struggling in the water trying to save themselves. 

'' I drifted thus for a long time, coming after a while to where 
the railroad bridges crossed the bay. I caught hold of one of the 
piling and stayed there for a time trying to rest. During tlie 
night my clothes had been entirely torn from my body and I was 
in a horrible plight. After having stayed there a little longer. I 
caught a piece of drift and turned loose and drifted with the tide. 
At last I drifted to a pile of lumber, and finding that the water 
was not deep there, I fell on top of the lumber. I was so 
exhausted by the terrible ride that I had taken that I immedi- 
ately went to sleep. 

" About daylight I awakened and found myself in a strange 
place. I walked to a house some distance from there, and on 
inquiring, found that I was at Lamarque. Remembering that I 
had an aunt living at that place, I found her house, which was also 
almost a ruin. This aunt took me in charge and I stayed there 
until I heard from my father, and then came back to Galveston." 



CHAPTER XXV 

Storms of Great Violence Around Galveston — Wrecked 
Cities and "Vast Destruction of Property- 
Appalling Sacrifice of Life. 

A CLOSE observer and correspondent who is familiar with 
ever}' part of Texas and is capable of sizing np the situa- 
tion, writes as follows concerning the disaster which has 
left Galveston a scene of death and ruin : 

" At first glance it would seem that the population of Gal- 
veston had been endowed b}^ a thoughtlessness which invites the 
calamities it has suffered. Three times in twenty-five years storms 
of great violence have swept over the island on which it occupies 
a position exposed to every energy of the elements, and on the two 
occasions whose history is complete the survivors rebuilt their city, 
as they probably will do again, and the storm broke upon it, as 
most likely it will once more, with death and destruction in its blast. 

" Apart from the deep sympathy which one feels for the peo- 
ple the situation may awaken a philosophic inquiry whose con- 
sideration is of less importance than the interest the subject 
awakens and which is reinforced by parallel cases in the history of 
disaster since the world began, and I propose to show in a few 
great cases how the citizens of Galveston are only repeating history 
when, even as they gather their dead, they plan a new cit}^ whose 
foundation shall be enduring and which shall stand defiant and 
permanent, a triumph of man over antagonistic nature and a civic 
crown -^1 glory to their efforts. It is no ignoble purpose. 

THE DYKES OF HOLLAND. 

" The sturd}^ Dutchmen who threw their dykes across the sea, 
the Sicilians who terraced Aetna's lava sides with vineyards, the 
people of San Francisco who rebuilt their city when it was cast 
down b}^ earthquakes until at last they found a structural design 
that would resist the seismic influence that hold the Pacific coast 

32 497 



498 GREAT STORMS AND VAST DESTRUCTION. 

in tremulous expectatiou ; Chicago that has risen twice from ashes 
to finer and more secure architectural proportions, and Calcutta, 
whose existence lias been marked by three beginnings, are all ex- 
pressions of the same splendid pertinacity with which the people of 
Galveston are already animated and from which will certainly ap- 
pear a new and grander Gulf city offering to the menaces of nature 
•a richer challenge. 

A GREAT BREAKWATER. 

" It was ne accidental selection that caused Galveston to be 
built as it was upon a low island whose approach from the sej 
offered no harbor to ships and to whose low, sandy shores the pro- 
ducts of the State of which she is the metropolis came only by 
artificial and difficult channels. The sweeping curves of the Gulf 
of Mexico reach its northern apex at or near this point, and it is 
there that the ships seeking the nearest approach to the cotton 
fields of Texas came, while the bay itself is as nearly as possible 
the average centre of industrial life in the State. The ba}?- was 
never a harbor. To those who are familiar with the Jersej^ coast 
the situation of Galveston is easily presented. 

"Just as part of the land has reached out into the sea and 
swinging around in different directions the points came in touch 
and raised a brccikwater which, gathering sand and pebbles, became 
the beach at distances of four to ten miles from the mainland, 
leaving interior bays, with shallow inlets connecting them with the 
ocean, Galveston island was formed. 

THE SWIRLING TIDES OF THE GULF. 

" If the visitor to Barnegat or even to the Inlet end of the 
' island at Atlantic, will recall how a narrow channel of tidal water 
reaches back to the sedge fringed bays that extend from Sea Girt 
to Cape May, and quadruple the width of those interior waters, he 
will have a fair idea of the position and surroundings of Galveston. 
Across Galveston Bay the railroads make their approach over eight 
to fifteen miles of tracks supported by piling. 

" The waters of the bay are indeed navigable and through its 



ORTvAT STORMS AND VAST DESTRUCTION. 4'. 

shallows the moderate tides of the gulf swirl out chanuels, which 
the small draft boats of Buffalo Ba3'0ii paddle and sail just as the 
wood and oyster schooners and j^achts move up Great Little Egg 
Harbor Bay on the Jersey coast. In fact, the situation of Galveston 
is not unlike that of Atlantic City, except that the sandy island on 
which it is built is lower and its front is to the south instead of to 
,the east. 

" Of course there is no well or spring water and the potable 
supply comes from the house roofs, wdiich are carefully built to 
gather as much rain as possible, to be stored in cemented cisterns 
for use. As to the harbor itself for sea-going ships there is, in 
fiict, none. Only the open gulf pushed at this point furthest into 
the shore, but in a sweep so grand that there are no headlands 
whatever. The water shoals slowly from the sea and ships of the 
draft of eighteen feet or more come in to take the first parts of their 
loads in the shallower water from lighters and move out from time 
to time until, when down to the load line, they are sometimes six 
or seven miles from land. 

TRYING TO MAKE A HAVEN. 

^' Great efforts have been made to give Galveston a harbor 
commensurate with her commercial enterprise, and in some ways 
success has attended these efforts. Long spurs of breakwater were 
built out on the principles of the Boca harbor at Buenos Ayres, 
with a view to enclosing an artificial haven for ships, but the preva- 
lent Southerly winds, the currents which they engender and the 
ceaseless tides liave made this work one of great difficulty. A fur- 
ther obstacle has been the shifting, sandy bottom, whose permeable 
formation reaches down many feet before it rests upon clay or rock. 

" The city itself is built chiefly of wood and on the lines of 
architecture adopted for coolness in tropical climates. That is to 
say, with vast doorways and windows, cutting out as much of the 
framework as possible and yet leave enough of support for a roof. 
This structural form permits the whole house to be opened for the 
passage of every breeze, but at the cost of stability. 

" At intervals and particularly when the spring or high tides 



oOO GREAT STORMS AND VAST DESTRUCTION. 

prevail, and when tlie southerly winds bank np the waters of the 
northern gulf, the streets of the city are flooded, the sewers deliver 
themselves the wrong way and the uncertain foundations of the 
cit}^ are weakened and prepared for the fall which follows close 
upon the weather conditions when they are intensified. 

THE CITY A PREY TO THE STORM. 

" We have now the situation of Galveston fairly before us, 
and can understand how it easil}'- succumbed to the violence of 
the late storm. It is true that the cyclone was of a potentialit}^ 
which might have razed a more firmly built cit}^, but probabl}- in 
no other city in this country could it have caused such complete 
devastation. 

" In twenty-five 3^ears the cit}^ of Galveston and the coast line 
of Texas have had three visitations of tropical hurricanes, bearing 
death and destruction in their blasts. Every year about the equi- 
noctial season storms of greater or less fury occur and never, ou 
account of the fragile materials and loose methods of building, 
have they failed of doing damage, but these three occup}^ thrones 
of mark above all others. In September, 1S75, the coast of Texas, 
from the mouth of the Rio Grande to the Sabine Pass, was swept 
by a cyclone that followed with its central zone the curve of the 
the coast, the wind varying at different times in its journey to 
southeast to southwest. 

" The town of Indianola was blotted out of the world in an 
hour. Not half a dozen of its 1,1, _o inhabitants escaped, and the 
sea swept away the island on which it stood, and its site has no 
other mark than that which the waves rolling over it can offer. 
There were not enough of people to ask for help. And as there 
was no longer a place to rebuild, the little remnant moved else- 
where. The storm swept over Galveston, raising a tidal wave that 
changed in its impetuous flow the whole shape of the island. From 
the western end nearly' two miles of land was cut off" and carried 
around to the north side. The cit}^ was unroofed, houses toppled 
and fell, the water flowed in resistless currents along the levees, 
floating off to sea thousands of bales of cotton and destroying in 



GREAT STORMS AND VAST DESTRUCTION. 501 

its vUd swirls the contents of stores and houses and many lives. 
The number never will be known but estimates place it at 800, 
For a week telegraphic communication was cut off. 

SPILES WRENCHED FROM THEIR PLACES 

"It was my fortune to be in Texas as a corresponden'. at the 
time and on the day of the storm at Houston, some sixty miles 
away, built at the head of Buffalo Bayou, and I was ordered to the 
wrecked city. At that time there was only one railroad, the Hous- 
ton and Galveston, and it was utterly destroyed for over thirty 
miles of its length. The top structure on the spiling across Gal- 
veston Bay was, of course, swept away, but it was a remarkable 
fact as showing the violence of the storm that about one of every 
three of the great spiles, 50 to 55 feet long and driven down 25 
to 30 feet in the sand, was wrenched from its place and swept 
away. 

" Others had resisted, but were twisted and split by the fury 
of wind and waves. Two small boats, stern wheelers, drawing 
from 28 to 30 inches of water, built on the Mississippi steamboat 
model of ancient times, with a cabin over the cargo and engine 
deck, a texas or ofiicers' cabin on top of that, and a glass wheel 
house on top of that — more fragile things you could not imagine — 
were moored at the mouth of the bayou, where the sluggish streanj 
enters the bay. 

" Strange to say these escaped with the loss of their smoke- 
stacks, and were available to send aid, which was not lacking, 
to the desolate city. It was impossible to transport tlie quantities 
of food and clothing that poured in from the North, and more rotted 
md was lost on the levee at Houston than reached the distressed 
zn habitants of Galveston. 

" That part of the city which was not blown down was im- 
bedded in sand. The Strand, a street in Galveston, whose name 
is now familiar to the world by reason of the awful scenes that so 
recently have been witnessed there, was four feet deep in sand, and 
the Tremont, Cosmopolitan and Great Southern Hotels were filled 
with sand and hotel was kept on their second floors. 



502 GREAT STORMS AND VAST DESTRUCTION. 

AROSE LIKE A PHOENIX. 

" But the city, although cast down, was not discouraged. It 
l^gan to rebuild itself, and b}^ Clii istnias of that year almost every 
frr-ace of the awful calamity had disappeared. The question natur- 
rfily arises wh}-^ a population which had received such an awful 
warning of its exposed condition should not abandon what in a 
military term would be called an untenable position. The answer 
is obvious. They had something left there. Even the island^ 
although distorted and out of shape, was still there and theirs, 
and they had nothing elsewhere, nor means to go to another place. 

" So, with hopeful philosophy they rebuilt their cit}^, restored 
its commerce and, encouraged with such empt}^ precepts as 
' Better luck next time,' ' Lightning never strikes twice in the same 
place,' went forward to meet their next blow, in 1893, when another 
hurricane visited them. It was not so terrible in its effect, but 
differed only in degree. The late severe storm gives further 
emphatic warning, more terrible and heart-breaking in its losses of 
life and vaster in its destruction of property. But they will, of 
course, rebuild their city and seek to establish protective barriers 
of breakwaters and seawalls to maintain it in existence. In all 
likelihood they will succeed, for the history of these efforts is of 
final security after trial and loss, and the firm resolution of man 
rises over every obstacle. 

ASLEEP OVER A VOLCANO. 

"Perhaps the persistency of the people who dwell on lIic slopes 
at the foot of Mount Vesuvius offers the most striking illustration 
of disregard of danger against which no human provision can be 
made. With a volcano boiling on the verge of eruptions that are 
forever imminent they pasture their flocks and press their grapes, 
careless of the menace which familiarity has taught them to de- 
spise. The whole kingdom of Naples is marked by the same dis- 
regard of natural and uncontrollable danger. The statement is 
accepted by the encyclopedias that in seventy-five years — from 
1783 to 1857 — the kingdom lost 111,000 inhabitants by the effects 



GREAT STORMS AND VAST DESTRUCTION. 603 

of earthquakes. About 1,500 a year in a population of less than 
5,000,000. 

The city of Lisbon sits smiling and prosperous on the north 
bank of the Tagus, and its inhabitants still point with pride to 
scarred earth dating from the earthquake in which 40,000 lives 
were lost. Charleston, S. C, is rebuilt. Johnstown, Pa., is re- 
stored to its prosperous industry. The Japanese still go their 
flowery way in Jeddo, where in one great shock 200,000 lives are 
said to have been lost — which figure is even approximately the 
greatest disaster the world has ever known. St. Thomas, in the 
West Indies; Port Royal, Jamaica; Cape Haytien, in Santo Do- 
mingo, with a tribute of 45,000 lives within the memory of men 
yet living, and the spice island of Krakatoa, are still peopled de- 
spite the black danger signal of the death which constantly waves 
over them. 

MYRIAD LIVES LOST IN GREAT DISASTERS. 

" If you will refer to the statistical sources of information you 
will find that in one hundred and fifty years, a mere moment in the 
life of this world and its races, and add up the round thousands 
only and leave out the hundreds of lives which are charged to 
lesser lists the sum will reach 1,563,000 souls in the thirty-seven 
most important earthquake, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and in- 
undations that have visited the earth. It is, of course, impossible 
to give any sort of guess as to the accuracy of the estimates of the 
loss of life. 

"Even in Johnstown it is not certainly known to this day 
within 2,000 persons how many were lost. The identified dead 
numbered 2,228. The best informed and conservative estimates 
place the figure at 3,500, and others reach 5,000, while published 
reports, which ought to be authoritative, calmly name the death 
list at 9,000. It is the same at Galveston, where the number is so 
variously stated that no reliance can be placed upon any numerical 
report beyond the fact that anywhere between 1,000 and 3,000 lives 
have been lost. If this, then, is the waywardness of figures in cases 
where not only the population is known, but in communities where 



50-4 GREAT STORMS AND VAST DESTRUCTION. 

tlie associations of commerce and social life lias been such tliat the 
survivors can count the missing and recognize such of the dead as 
may be found, how wild must be the estimate placed upon such 
cataclysms as that in Southeastern Bengal and the Niegen Islands, 
where on October 31, 1876, in a cyclone, 215,000 people rre said 
'to have perished. 

CARELESS ABOUT ALL DANGER. 

" But even there, where such a loss would imply the sacrifice 
of one in every four persons inhabiting the territory so awfully 
stricken, the people still pursue their daily avocations, toil and 
rest, love, hate, mourn and die with the composure and ease of 
mind that prevail in Philadelphia or New York, where no shadow 
of storm is known to hover and where no devastating earthquake 
or fiery volcano lurks for victims. But, of course, these awful 
figures have very little relation to the actual losses. In the storm 
in Bengal Sir Richard Temple, who had charge of the crown relief, 
did not find that 20,000 lives were lost and that probably not more 
than 10,000 died of the famine which the loss of the crops insured. 
In the potato famine in Ireland, in 1846 and 1847, the loss of life 
was named at 120,000 by those who charged the whole business to 
English misrule and was named at from 8,000 to 20,000 by the 
royal commissioners entrusted with the distribution of the ;^io,- 
000,000 of Parliamentary grant foi the relief of the famished land, 

LAWS REGULATING STORMS. 

" So the loss in battles always begins to be told in numbers that 
occasionally would require more than the combined forces of the 
two armies to supply. The first reports of Shiloh or Pittsburg 
Landing, in the early days of the Civil War, is a case in point. 
Had we fought on at the rate given then the country would not 
have had a male person in its population a year before the date of 
Appomattox. So that we can hope everyday will reduce the num- 
ber, although it cannot lessen the horror otherwise, of the visita- 
tion the death angel has made in the Lone Star State. 

" It is interesting to study the law of storms which take on 



GREAT STORiMS AND VAST DESTRUCTION. 505 

such a rythmical obedience as it would seem to appear at given 
places and times. In this case the weather bureau was accurately 
alert to the approaching disturbance. Four days before its arrival 
on the coast its formation in the Caribbean Sea was noted and its 
probable course northward chartered and proclaimed as a danger 
■ "> the Atlantic States. The meteorological phenomenon was cor- 
rectly defined and watched in its development until on Thursday 
night it reached the Florida coast and struck a rude blow at Tampa. 
Up to this moment the weather office had made no mistake and its 
predictions lifted its utterance to the domain of verified prophecy 

FREAKS OF THE HURRICANE. 

" Then the behavior of the storm with reference to its move- 
ments becomes almost fantastic. It was as if its controlling spirit 
had received a notice of the warning that had preceded it and the 
preparations of commerce to defend itself from its attacks. There- 
fore it made a feint demonstration upon the Atlantic Ocean, and 
suddenly turning fairly about in its course flew westward out of 
barometric supervision to seek a more vulnerable spot. Galveston 
was open to it, and sweeping across the gulf, from which no herald 
of warning could hasten in advance, it struck the Texas coast on 
Saturday and went howling with demoniac fury over the Missis- 
sippi plateau, across the lakes and down the St. Lawrence Valley 
out to sea again, to be chilled to death in the frigid air currents of 
the polar seas. 

" When the West India Islands and the ports of Mexico are 
equipped with weather observing stations from which prompt and 
frequent reports shall be made, no storm can draw nigh on shores 
,to effect a surprise. Commerce can in a measure protect itself, but 
ill-built cities and crops must at intervals suffer. The lesson of 
the last one is of warning, but how to profit b}^ it outruns prevision 
that seeks absolute security. There can be no such thing, ' for as 
the pestilence walketh in darkness and destruction wasteth at noon 
still a thousand shall fall and ten thousand at th}^ rigfht hand, for 
the hand of man caHuot stay the tempest.' This is according to 
all human experience," 



506 GREAT STORMS AND VAST DESTRUCTION. 

To have saved and then to have lost is if anything harder 
to bear than to have lost at first. It was thus with Mr. William 
H. Irvin, who succeeded in saving his wife and all but one of his 
children from the death which the elements were so anxious to 
administer, but afterwards lost his wife, who succumbed to the 
injuries she received that night. 

The story of Irvin and his family's escape is like those of 
others who succeeded in getting out alive. It is simply marvel- 
ous, and their coming out with their lives can only be credited to 
that supreme power which is even mightier than the winds and sea. 
While he did all that any human could in saving his loved ones, 
yet his efforts were naught in that mighty battle of the elements. 

GREAT DARING SHOWN. 

In point of detail his story corresponds with the many others 
that are told of that night, but it is one of great daring also, one 
in which quick action and a trust in Divine Providence played an 
important part. Irvin was living with his happy family in a 
little story and a half cottage near the corner of Nineteenth 
street and Avenue 0}4 before the storm, but now all of that 
happy home is gone, and two of that happy family are no 
more. 

It was early in the afternoon that the water began rising 
out there, but it was not until later, when all chance of getting 
out and coming to town to a place of safety was gone, did they 
become frightened. The hoiise, though small was strongly built, 
and it was this that caused several of the neighbors who were 
living in frail houses to come to the Irvin home for refuge. They 
were Mrs. Crowley, two sons and a daughter, and Miss Aldridge. 
Along in the afternoon they became thoroughly frightened by 
the waters, which were rapidly rising, and the wind which was 
increasing in velocity every minute. 

And well they might, for at that time the house was begin- 
ning to groan under the fierce onslaughts of the wind and the water. 
The}^ stayed downstairs until the water had creeped up into the 
house, coming up and up until it drove them to the stairs. Then 



GREAT STORMS AND VAST DESTRUCTION. 507 

it drove them up step by step. They were frightened, yes, but 
never did the dreadful picture of what did happen present 
itself to even their terror-stricken minds. No imagination was 
then able to make a picture like the one in realit}^ 

They were thus driven up into the attic by the waters and 
terrorized by the wind until after dark. Then, as if to follow out< 
the idea that whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad, 
the wdnd added to their fright and almost crazed them by carry- 
ing before it to their ears the frantic appeals for help from those 
who were already in the storm's clutches and were soon to become 
its victims. The houses around them went, nothing being able 
to stand against the mighty force of the wind and waves. Then it 
was that their house began to creak and groan louder than ever, 
until at last Irvin and his fellows in distress felt that it was going 
the next minute, and if thej^ did not get out then they never would. 

EIGHT CHILDREN THROWN OUT OF WINDOW. 

So, having no time for a second thought, he picked up one o 
those eight children, whose life was part of his and who made 
his life worth living, and with a prayer tossed him out of the 
window, to alight on what he did not know, if to alight on any- 
thing. But he thought, and wisely, as circumstances proved, 
that they would have a better chance in the open than in a falling 
house. He risked their falling into that turbulent sea and sink- 
ing, never to come up, to leaving them in the building to be maimed 
by flying timbers and killed by the falling house. 

Thus he threw out all of the eight, then came his wife, then 
the others who had come to him for refuge. He did not know 
what the fate of each of the former was when he threw out 
another, but trusted to Divine Providence, and not in vain. For 
as he threw the first out a shed in the rear of the house, as if 
with heroic instinct, washed against the building directly under 
the window, and there it sta3^ed for a few seconds, catching each 
member of the family as he or she fell, even waitiug for him. 

The rest of Irvin's story is that of a continual fight to keep 
his family from being blown and washed off of the raft that Provi- 



608 (iREAT STORMS AND VAST DESTRUCTION. 

dence had given liim. This fight lasted for hours and their per- 
ilous position was made even greater by the flying timbers and 
pieces of slate which the wind would seem to take such delight 
in hurling at them. It was a battle between providence and the 
elements to see which should claim the family for its own, and 
not until nearly three o'clock did the wind and water cease in 
their efforts to add the Irvin family to their long list of victims. 
The elements were recompensed by taking one of the eight 
children and injuring the wife so that she would later become one 
of their dead. 

At about three o'clock the next morning Irvin found himself 
and family, except the little one who had been lost, several blocks 
from where he had formerly lived, and mixed up in the debris. 
At da3/light he succeeded in getting his wife and children out and 
brought them to the business part of the town. 

THE MOST REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE. 

As soon as possible he sent the children to relatives in Hous- 
ton. In the meantime his wife had been taken to the Sealy hos- 
pital suffering from the injuries she had received during 'the 
storm. At this time he realized that he was hurt also and went 
to the temporary hospital at the Custom House, where he stayed 
for several days under treatment. It was while he was there that 
the last sad chapter was added to his story. While there confined 
to his bed, his wife died in the Sealy hospital, and he had to lie 
at the Custom House without getting a last look at the woman 
whom he loved, while strangers were burying her body. Of his 
neighbors who took refuge with him all were saved except the little 
daughter of Mr. Crowley. 



IMPRISONED BY THE STORM. 

Thrilling Experience of Colonel Anderson, the Fort Point Lighthouse 

Keeper and His Wife— In the Face of Death the Light Was 

Put Up— Isolated for Days in the Wrecked House 

Without Supplies. 

THE government reservation of several hundred acres situated at the 
extreme eastern end of Galveston island met the full force of the 
storm of September 8th. Unprotected from any side the destruc- 
tive hurricane and relentless gulf swept the historic spot and the massive 
concrete fortifications crumbled like so much papier mache. The sub- 
stantial, double iron-braced barrack buildings and quarters were battered 
into kindling wood and not a stick stands to mark the place where thirteen 
buildings stood. Situated within the United States government reserva- 
tion were the quarantine oflEicers' home and headquarters ; the torpedo 
casemate, torpedo cable-tank, torpedo warehouse, engineers' store rooms 
and wharf leading to the cable tank and casemate. 

These structures were located on the bay shore in the no-rthwestern 
corner of the immense reservation. Following the jetty as it extended 
eastward and curved to the south were the United States life saving 
station and the Fort Point light house, each about two hundred yards apart. 
At the northeastern point of the island are the two rapid-fire batteries 
pointing over the jetty and commanding the channel in the bay between 
the two jetties. Around on the eastern and southeastern edge of the 
point are the lo-inch rifle battery and the 12-inch mortar battery, about 
500 yards apart. In the centre of the reservation were grouped the bar- 
rack buildings. These buildings were built about eighteen months ago 
and afibrded accommodations for a one-battery post. 

The government was raising this reservation by filling in the site 
about ten feet above mean low tide. The quarters had not been occupied, 
having been built on piling, high in the air, to allow for the filling which 
was being distributed in the shape of sand pumped from the bay by the 
government dredge boat. The detail of twelve men from battery O 
which cared for the batteries at Fort San Jacinto, which was the nev/ 
name given to the historic "Fort Point" of early Texas days, occu- 
pied quarters in temporary structures erected in the rear of the lo-inch 
battery. 

Before the storm Fort San Jacinto was a most inviting and attractive 
o^ ace. The immense reservation east of the fence, which marked the 

609 



610 IMPRISONED IN A UGHTHOUSE;. 

western boundary, extending across the island from bay to gulf, was a 
most picturesque section of the island. When the storm had finished its 
merciless onslaught, Fort San Jacinto and its government structures pre- 
sented a picture of terrible ruin. The costly coast fortifications, which 
had been constructed to withstand the attacking powers of the navies of 
the world, were silenced and rendered helpless by the combined batteries 
of the wind and sea. 

The life saving station, where Captain Edward Haines and nine of 
his brave comrades stood ready to render succor to the storm-driven 
wretches, was picked up with its load of boats, beach apparatus and other 
life saving paraphernalia and crushed like a match box. Only four or 
five of the long pilings mark the site of the station house. Mrs. Haines, 
wife of Captain Haines, and one of the crew met their death at the station 
when the building collapsed. 

WATERS OF BAY AND GULF MEET. 

The south jetty, which marked the northern and eastern boundaries 
of the reservation, pointed its long line of rail-capped rocks five feet above 
the tide before the storm. But when the northeast gale backed the waters 
of the bay against the stone wall and the storm swelled the bay out of its 
banks, the water rose above the jetty and swept like a millrace to meet the 
waters of the gulf, which came running in from the southeast. This was 
early in the afternoon, and as the hurricane increased in velocity and the 
gulf roared out its warning, the terrible work of destruction commenced. 
The reservation was inundated and the force of the mighty waters quickly 
dug channels beneath the fortifications. 

Then the wind and gulf joined forces and the great coast defenses 
succumbed to the attack and were washed from their foundations and half 
buried in the grave dug by the waters of the gulf. The immense concrete 
and rock structures toppled like toy houses as the greedy waters plowed 
channel after channel in the quicksand upon which the batteries stood. 
With the wooden structures, the barracks and warehouses, the wind made 
quick work, and the wreckage was shot through the rapids and carried 
'(:o sea. 

As the waters on their reservation rose higher and higher and the for- 
tifications sank from view the lighthouse stood alone in the high sea which 
made the gulf and bay one. In this structure two human souls watched 
the storm gods at work and waited for their time. There was no hope of 
escape. The steel bridge leading from the top of the jetty to the light- 
house had been twisted by the wind and carried away; the lifeboat wliicb 



IMPRISONED IN A UGHTHOUSE. 5^1 

hung from davits beneath the house had been snatched from its position 
and smashed against the iron supports, and the water carried off the splin- 
tered remnants. 

Night came and the lamp in the tower, as though dtefying the hellish 
work of the raging elements, cast its mellow rays of light upon the scene 
of devastation and death which Night had just covered with its mantle 
That human hands should dare to illuminate the appalling scene of tragedy 
must have enraged the murderous elements, and the storm batteries were 
turned on the tower. For an hour or more the attack continued with 
increasing vengeful power, and then — the light went out. Satisfied, per- 
haps, that the last defender of the reservation had been silenced the war- 
ring elements abandoned their fierce attack and entered the city to finish 
their destruction. 

With the dawning of day an aged couple, who had faced many dan- 
gers in life's stormy sea together, came out on the gallery of the lighthouse 
and, standing arm in arm, viewed the funeral procession in the bay. They 
had survived the night, and while they stood there high above the water 
in silent thanksgiving for their safe deliverance, they saw the ebbing tide 
carrying its dead to sea. Out through the jetties the long cortege moved 
swiftly, with the angel of death piloting the craft of human corpses. 

RISES TO A HEIGHT OF SIXTY FEET. 

Fort Point lighthouse is situated two miles from the city. It is a six- 
sided iron structure rising above the water to a height of about sixty feet. 
It stands about 300 feet south of the jetty, and the water up to the time of 
the storm was never over two feet in depth around the house. At time.s 
it was dry, but usually only a few inches of water played around the iron 
screw piles, which were screwed into the sand about eighteen feet, and 
upon which the iron superstructure is supported. The metal framework 
supporting the lighthouse proper and the light tower rises about thirty- 
five feet from the base. 

Then comes the living apartments of the keeper. Colonel C. A. Ander- 
son, and his wife. On top is the light tower, a s^x-sided glass house, with 
iron framework. A gallery encircles the living apartments, and another 
the light tower. About ten feet beneath the living apartments and about 
twenty-five feet above the base a wooden platform served the dual purpose 
01 basement and back yard to the isolated habitation. On this platform 
two large tanks furnished fresh water for the household, a shed held the 
wood supply and another shed was used as a storehouse for a several 
months' supply of kerosene oil for tue light. 



512 IMPRISONED IN A UGHTHOUSR. 

From the jetty a steel bridge led to the lighthouse, and from the 
bridge a stairway extended to the basement and living apartments. In 
the rear an iron ladder leading from the gallery of the keeper's home 
communicated with the "back yard" and basement, and also with the 
boat house and a platform extending from the rear of the structure to the 
bridge in front. 

When the wind had subsided and the sea receded the naked metal 
frame supporting the house was all that was left of the lower structure. 
Wrapped around the iron pillars and braces were steel railroad tracks, 
which the wind and sea had wrenched from the jetty railroad and twisted 
around the lighthouse supports. The bridge had fallen an easy victim to 
the storm, and the water supply, wood, oil, lifeboat and stairway were 
torn from their fastenings and carried to sea. The jetty, with its huge 
rocks, weighing tons, had suffered many a breach, and a large opening 
was in front of the lighthouse. Through this break the waters of the 
gulf and bay rushed like a mill race, and a new channel connecting the 
bay and gulf was cut in a night. The isolation of the lighthouse was 
most complete. 

STORM HOWLS A DEATH WARNING. 

Colonel Anderson is seventy-three years of age and his wife some 
years his junior. No human mind can picture their experiences on that 
night of nights. Words are inadquate to convey an idea of the feelings 
of this devoted couple while the storm cried out its death warning and 
these two mortals prepared for the end which they were so sure was at 
hand. To attempt to leave the home would have been madness itself, 
but this thought was not for a moment entertained. The colonel would 
never desert his post, and his consort was happy to be near that they may 
both go to their death together. 

Four rooms and a bath room comprised the home of the keeper, and 
the many friends of the family speak of the place as " Mamma Anderson's 
doll house." Not because the apartments are small, for they are com- 
paratively good sized rooms, but because they were the cosiest and pret- ' 
tiest furnished rooms to be found, perhaps, on the whole island. Every' 
nook and corner reflected the exquisite handiwork of the dear housewife 
who made this home an emporium of fancy needle work, embroidery, 
dainty laces and other rich and beautiful decorations and ornaments in 
which she justly took great pride. 

The affectionate couple addressed each other in the endearing terms 



IMPRISO^fED IN A LIGHTHOUSE. 51 S 

of "Mama" and "Papa," and their home far beyond the city is truly 
*' home, sweet home." 

Early in the afternoon of the storm Captain Haines and his brave 
crew from the life saving station manned the life boat and started to go to 
the lighthouse to bring the keeper and his wife to town. But even at that 
early hour no boat could live in the gale and raging sea that was threaten- 
ing the destruction of the whole island. The wall of rock, called the 
jetty, would not permit any boat approaching within several hundred feet 
of the sharp-pointed line of stone extending five miles to sea. But, as 
Mrs. Anderson said in relating the incident to a News reporter who visited 
the stricken home two weeks after the storm: " It was a noble act for Cap- 
tain Haines to attempt to rescue us, but it would have resulted in a useless 
risk, because Papa would not have left the lighthouse while it stood and 
I would never leave without him." 

PREPARED FOR THE WORST. 

Two hours after Captain Haines' attempt, the life saving station col- 
lapsed and Mrs. Haines, the nearest neighbor of the lighthouse keeper's 
family, and one of the crew were killed. As the shades of night began to 
fall the destruction in and about the Point was about complete, and the 
keeper of the light and his faithful companion withdrew to prepare them- 
selves for the worst. From the sleeping room of Colonel Anderson a stair- 
way, winding around a steel post, which extends from the top of the light 
tower through the center of the entire structure, and fastened to a screw 
pile in the sand bed, leads to the light tower. 

Promptly at the usual hour the keeper who, for five years, has watched 
and cared for the light, made his way to the tower with his brass kerosene 
lamp and placed it within the strong, magnifying circular lens. The linen 
curtains which shade the glass enclosure during the day were drawn aside 
and the bright light shed its rays out into the gloom, and storm-tossed ves- 
sels in port were able to get their bearings. 

The water rose higher and higher and the storm waves sent their 
spray over the top of the tower. The hurricane increased in violence 
and the slate from the roof of the keeper's home was picked off piece by 
pitrce by the wind. An hour passed, and the keeper had made frequent 
journeys to the tower to see that the light was burning. He went up 
again, but had hardly reached the landing through the small opening in 
the floor, when one of the large panes of thick glass on the northeast 
side was smashed by flying slate. The light was extinguished and a 
f iece of glass struck the aged keeper in the head and face. The opening 



514 IMPRISONED IN A LIGHTHOUSE. 

in the lens faced the broken window pane and it was useless to relight the 
lamp. Stunned by the blow, and bleeding from the wounds in his head 
and face, the old man made his way down the stairs where his wife 
waited and watched for his return. "Mama" quickly dressed the 
wounds, and then the aged couple went into the parlor and in silence 
waited for the end. 

Above the howling tempest the agonizing grinding of the jetty rail- 
road iron on the metal supports of the lighthouse struck terror to the 
hearts of the anxious watchers imprisoned above. The slate roof suffered 
severely and the rain pouring in from above added to the pitiful experi- 
ence of the night. 

IN DANGER OF STARVATION. 

This is just the plain story of what happened on that fateful night, 
but the sufferings of the next few days were even greater to the keeper 
and his wife. There were no provisions in the house and the supply of 
vegetables, fuel and fresh water in the " basement " had been washed 
away. The water around the house even after the tide went out was over 
ten feet deep. The life boat had been stolen by the storm, and not even a 
plank to serve as a raft was to be found on the premises. Having weath- 
ered the terrible storm they were apparently left to starve to death. The 
shipping in the harbor had suffered and no boats were to be seen in the 
channel. The flag of distress hoisted on the gallery was not responded 
to, and no small boat could enter through the breach in the jetty ; it was 
too dangerous. Alone and forgotten. Who thought of the lighthouse 
and the two mortals imprisoned there by the storm and isolated by fate ? 

Three days passed and the scant supply of three or four cans of soup 
and fruit had long since been exhausted. On the third day a voice was 
heard calling from below and Mrs. Anderson recognized her son, C. D. 
Anderson, Jr., a boy of i6 years, swimming in the water from the jetty 
to the lighthouse. He had for three days been trying to get to his father 
and mother, having been up the bay with a surveying party when the 
storm struck the island. Dr. Mayfield, the quarantine officer, had brought 
him in his boat from town. 

,c. Young Anderson was fearful of the fate of his parents and he made 
his way to them as soon as possible. In a small bundle which he man 
aged to save while he swam the stream, he carried some nourishment, 
but he had not contemplated that he would find his mother and father 
suffering for food and water. The boy returned to town and notified the 
authorities to send food and fresh water to the water-bound keeper and 



IMPRISONED IN A UGHTHOUSE. 515 

his wife, but the request was not complied with. The city was weighted 
with sorrow and every man was burdened with grave responsibilities. No 
boats were running out in that direction. 

Ten days wore away and the situation had become critical with the 
noble keeper and his wife when the Arbutus, the light-house tender, casie 
into port, and passing the light house saw the signal of distress flying 
from the prison-home. That day a supply of food and two small casks of 
tainted water were delivered at the light house. It was not the food that 
the family was accustomed to — it was simply hard tack and salt meat^ 
which is supplied as rations to the crews of vessels. The government 
does not furnish supplies to its light house keepers, and Colonel Anderson's 
home always boasted of the goodies served at meal time at his own expense. 

THE COLONEL A NOTED CHARACTER. 

Two weeks after the storm the situation had been somewhat improved, 
but the fresh water supply had been exhausted and when a News reporter 
visited the home Colonel Anderson and his wife were praying for rain 
that they might catch a supply of heaven's dew in a tub which had been 
placed under the spout from the roof The light house tender Arbutus 
had sent a man who repaired the damaged light tower, but the aged 
couple were left to their own resources to get water and food. The re- 
porter, who had been able to reach the light house through the kindness 
of Assistant Engineer Wilcox of the United States engineering office, 
brought back to town another communication asking that food and water 
be sent out to the light house. 

Colonel C. D. Anderson is quite a noted character and is well known 
as a man who figured conspicuously and gallantly in the civil war, and 
also in public office since the war. He is a native of South Carolina, a 
graduate of West Point and held a commission in the United States army 
before the civil war. He received his appointment as second lieutenant 
in the Fourth artillery from Texas on June 26, 1856, was made first 
lieutenant July 6, 1859, and on April i, 1861, resigned his commission 
and came south to join the army of the confederacy. He was appointed 
to A captaincy and distinguished himself and rose rapidly to the rank of 
Colonel and was given command of the Twenty-first Alabama infantry. 

He was in command of Fort Gaines and his gallant defense of that 
fort won the admiration of Admiral Farragut, who returned Colonel An- 
derson's sword which was delivered to the admiral at the surrender of the 
fort. Colonel Anderson has the sword in his possession and prides it as a 
gift from his friends when he came south and joined the confederate army. 



^16 IMPRISONED IN A LIGHTHOUSE. 

The blade of the sword bears the following inscription which Admiral 
Farragut had engraved on the weapon before its return to its owner : 

"Returned to Colonel C. D. Anderson by Admiral Farragut for his 
gallant defense of Fort Gaines, April 8, 1864." 

The sword was carried by Colonel Anderson in the battle of Shiloh 
and through many other battles and historical occurrences in the long 
struggle between the north and the south. 

After the war the colonel, who is a civil engineer of note, held sev- 
eral prominent positions under the government in river and harbor en- 
gineering, and finally came to Texas where he has resided for many years. 
He engaged in railroad construction and built many miles of Texas roads. 
He served two terms as city engineer of Austin and then came to Gal- 
veston. The new custom house in this city stands as a monument to the 
engineering skill of the aged keeper of Fort Point lighthouse, whose life 
history reads like a romance. Mrs. Anderson comes from a family closely 
associated with the history of this country, and the department of justice 
building in Washington was her father's home and the house where Col- 
mel Anderson, then a gallant young army officer, claimed her as his bride. 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS 

OF THE GREAT 

GALVESTON HORROR. 



T 



HE Galveston Daily News printed the following list of those known 
to have perished in the hurricane. The names given below make 
a total of nearly 5000. 



Ackermann, Herman, wife and daughter. 

Ackerman, Chas. 

Adams, Mrs. Mary (colored). 

Adams, Miss Katie May, daughter of H. B. 
Adams of Malvern, Ark. 

Adams, Bennie and Jesse. 

Adams, Mr. and Mrs. Toby (colored). 

Adameit, Mrs. Gotleib and seven children. 

Adascheck, Mrs. Powell and four children, 
2810 R. 

Agin, George and child. 

Aguilo, Joe B. and three children. 

Ahy, Mrs. John and three children. 

Akers, C B. ,. wife and three children. 

Albano, Mrs. and two children, Tony and 
Mary. 

Alberto, F. L., longshoreman. 

Albertson, M. , wife and daughter. 

Albertson, Emile. 

Anderson, Henry. 

Albertson, A., wife and two children. 

Alexander, Annie and Christian, children 
of Thomas. 

AUardyce, Mrs. R. L. and three children. 

Allen, W. T., wife, daughter and one son. 

Allen, E. B., and wife. 

Allen, Mrs. Kate. 

Allen, Mrs. Alex, and five children (colored). 

Allen, Wm., wife and three children, Fifty- 
eighth and Q/z. 

Allen, Mr. and Mrs. E. 

AUerson, Edward, shoemaker. Twenty-sev- 
enth and QJ4. 

Allison, S. B., wife and six children. Thirty- 
fifth and S/z. 

Almeras, Mrs. P., visiting Oliver Udell 
down the island. 

Almos, Mrs. P. 

Alphonse, John, wife and family, with one 
exception. Forty-fourth and S. 

Alpin, George and wife (colored). 

Ammundsen, Emil, wife and child, Lucas 
Terrace. 

Anderson, J. W., wife and three children. 

Anderson, L. , and wife, Seventeenth and O. 



Anderson, H. E. 

Anderson, Mrs. Dora and child Louise, wife 
of C J. Anderson, 901 Broadway. 

Anderson, Ella, daughter of John Ander- 
son, between Thirty-sixth and Thirty- 
seventh on Postoffice ; lost down the 
island. 

Anderson, Ned, wife and two children. 

Anderson, Ella, Heard's Lane, shell road. 

Anderson, L. (shoemaker) and wife. 

Anderson, Oscar wife and child. 

Anderson, A. G., wife and children. 

Anderson, Amanda (colored.) 

Anderson, Mrs. Sam (colored.) 

Anderson, C., Anderson ways. Bay Shore 

Anderson, Andrew, wife and two children. 

Anderson, Nick, and sons Henry and John. 

Anderson, Mrs. Carl and four children, 
stockyards. 

Anderson, Nels., shipbuilder, Galveston 
island. 

Anderson, Edward, 'longshoreman. 

Andrew, Mrs. A. and family. 

Andrews, Mrs. A. and three children. 

Andre w^s, Mrs., on the Hisser place. Bay 
Shore. 

Andro, Mrs. and three children. 

Angily, Mrs. P. 

Anizan, Mrs. Frank and two children. La- 
marque, Tex. 

Antonovich, John and Pinkie, 3808 P^. 

Antonovich, Eddie. 

Aplin, George and wife. 

Appel, Fritz and son. 

Applin, Mrs. Lucy and four children (col- 
ored), L and Eleventh. 

Ardisson, Mrs. J. and eight children. 

Armitage, Miss Vivian. 

Armour, Mrs. and five children. 

Armstrong, Mrs. Dora, wife of C. F., and 
four children. 

Artisan, John, wife and nine children, of 
Thirty -ninth and S>^. 

Ashe, George, Jr. 

Ashley, Mr. and Mr=. F. C. 

617 



518 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



Astheimer, Betty, Henrietta Philip and 

Frank. 
Atanasso. 

Augustine, Pasquil and wife. 
Aull, Nicholas and family of eight. 
AuU, George and family of five. 
Aull, Joseph and family of four. 
Aull, Mary, wife of Joseph Aull. 
Azteana, Captain Sylvester de. 



Badger, Otto, N, between Thirteenth and 
Fourteenth. 

Bailey, George, wife and three children 

Baker, Miss Florence (colored). 

Baker, Mrs. and three children (colored), 
2828 avenue P. 

Baldwin, Miss Sallie (colored). 

Balliman, Gussie, 3602 Q}4- 

Balliman, Irene, 3602 Q'/2. 

Balliman, John, 3602 Q)^. 

Balzman, Mrs. 

Bammell, Mrs. 

Bandus, Mr. and family, down the island. 

Bankers, Mrs. Charles. 

Barden, Mr. and Mrs. J. F. 

Barnard, Mrs. Mary A., 2113 Thirty-third 
street. 

Barnes, Mrs. Louise M., widow of William 
Barnes, 2003 Tremont street. 

Barnesfki, family of eight, down the island. 

Barry, Mrs. James and six children, K, be- 
tween Forty-second and Forty-third. 

Barry, wife and six children, Forty-third 
and K. 

Bass, John, wife and four children (colored). 

Batchelor, Frank, wife and four children, 
Bennie, Roy, Lawrence and Harris ; lived 
at Forty-first and S^. 

Batja, Otto, Fifteenth and M. 

Batteste, Horace, aged 50, Lucas Terrace. 

Baurlot, V. C. and wife. 

Bausens, wife of C. J. 

Bautch, William, wife and two children. 

Baxter, Mrs. and child. 

Beall, Mrs. Dudley and child. 

Beaudoin, Mrs. and two children, Twenty- 
eighth and P. 

Becker, Mr. and Mrs. John F., and two 
children. 

Bedford, fisherman (colored). 

Beekman, Martha Louise, daughter of Ed. 
Q., 1906 Twenty-first street. 

Belcher, three children of Mrs. Marguerite. 

Bell, Eugenia, Alex. C., Beulah and Guy, 
i8th and Q. 

Bell, George. 

Bell, Clarence. 

Bell, Henry (colored). 

Bell, Mrs. Mattie, on country road. 

Bellew, Mr. and Mrs. J. F., and daughter. 

Benn, Mrs. Annie and two daughters. 



Bernardoni, John, Eighth and L. 
Benson, Mrs. Amanda (colored). 
Benson, Miss Delphia (colored). 
Benson, Mrs., Seventeenth and 0)4- 
Benson, Andrew, longshoreman. 

Bernard, Mrs. . 

Berger, W. L., wife and child. 
Berger, Theo., wife and child. 
Bergman, Mrs. R. J. and little daughter. 
Betts, Walter. 

Betts, Mrs. Mattie, lost at Giozza residence. 
Beyer, Mrs. Lincey, 1109 Broadway. 
Beveridge, Mrs. J. L. and two children. 
Bierman, Frederick, S and Forty-third. 
Billigman, Mrs. Lizzette, found on 13th and 

Broadway ; resided on M and 13th. 

Birge, , and wife. 

Bird, Mrs., and child. 

Bird, Mrs. Joseph and five children. 

Blackson, baby of William. 

Blake, child of F. W., British vice consul, 

3206 avenue Q. 
Bland, Florence (colored). 
Bland, Mrs., and seven children (colored). 
Block, son of Charles. 
Blum, Mrs. J., Twenty-second and P. 
Blum, Isaac, Sarah and Jennie. 
Blura, Mrs. Sylvania. 
Boat-wright, Mrs. 
Boddeker, Austin, son of Will Boddeker; 

drowned at Arcadia. 
Boddeker, Charles. 

Boedecker, H. C, wife and two children. 
Boedecker, H., father, brother and sister 

Thirty -seventh and Q}4- 
Boening, William, wife and three children 

milkman, down the island. 
Bogel, Mrs. H., and children Florence, Mar- 
guerite and Alma, Fifty-second and P}4 
Bohn, Dixie. 
Bonner, Mrs., avenue S, between Thirty 

sixth and Thirty-seventh. 
Borden, Mr. and Mrs. J. F. 
Bornkessel, T. C.of United States weather 

bureau, and wife. 
Boske, Mrs. Charles, and two sons. 
Boss, Charles and DetlefF. 
Boss, Fred, (colored). 
Boston, Mrs. Clara (colored) Eleventh and 

M 
Botsford, Edwin and wife, Kinskead addl 

tion. 
Bo"we, Mrs. John, and four children. 
Bowen, Chas. K. , of Half Moon lighthouse. 
Bowen, Captain Chas. K., daughter and 

grandchild, of North Galveston, visiting 

at Thirty- eighth and S. 
Bowie, Mrs. John, and two children. 
Boyd, Andy, wife and four children, Buelah 

Bessie, George and Mabel, Nineteenth 

and P. 
Bradfield, Tom and wife, down the island. 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



519 



Bradfoot, and wife, seven miles down tlie 
island. 

Bradly, Miss Nannie. 

Bradly, Miss Etliel. 

Brady, and wife, Twenty-eightli and 

PK- 

Branch, Allen (colored), Mrs. Eva. 

Branch, Miss Pearl G. (colored), Forty- 
fourth and S)4- 

Brandes, Fritz, wife and four ciiildren, 
milkman, down the island. 

Brandon, Lottie, Laniarque, Tex. 

Bray, Mary, niece of Alex. Coddou. 

Brentley family. 

Briscoll, A., (milkman) and family. 

Britton, James (colored), Lamarque, Tex. 

Brockelman, C J. 

Brockelman, three children of J. T. 

Brocker, Joe and family. 

Brooks, J. T. 

Brown, Wm., Forty. third and R. 

Brown, Adolph, wife and two children, S 
and Forty-third. 

Brown, Mrs. Gus (colored), son and two 
grandchildren, down the island. 

Brow^n, Gus (colored), down the island. 

Brown, Joseph and family. 

Brozis, M. G., wife and child. Thirty-sev- 
enth and S. 

Brunner, Albert, longshoreman. 

Bryan, Mrs L. VV., and daughter Alice, of 
South McAlester, I. T., at H. C. Ripley's 
house. 

Buckley, Selma and Blanche, and their 
mother and father. 

Buckley, Mrs. S. and daughter. 

Bupen, Marco, wife and five children, down 
the island. 

Burge, Wm., wife and child, postmaster 
Heard's postoffice. 

Burge, S. W ■ wife and two children, Twen- 
ty-fourth and Beach. 

Burgess, Mrs. and child. 

Burgoyne, F'rancis, Mrs., Twenty-eighth, 
between Q andQj^. 

Biirgojme, Dugle, Twenty-eighth, between 
Q and Q'A- 

Burke, J G., Thirty-seventh and O. 

Burke, Jessie K., Mrs., Thirty-seventh and Q. 

Burnett, baby of Mrs. Annie Burnett. 

Burnett. Mrs. George and child. 

Burns. Mrs. M. E. and child, Mary E. 

Burns, Mrs. 

Burns. Mrs. P., and daughter, Mary, Kin- 
kead addition. 

Burnett, Mrs. Mary, P>^ and Twenty -fourth. 

Burnett, Mrs. Gary, and two children. 

Burrell, Elvie, and two children, (colored). 

Burrell, Mrs. Gete, (colored). 

Burrows, Mrs. 

Burwell, T. M., 1423 L. 

Buscher, F, and wife. 



Bush, Charles, wife and three children. 

Bush, Hisom. 

Bush. Mr. Charles and daughter, Mrs. 

Bettie B. Sawyer, all colored, Hfty-sixth 

street, between Church and Winnie, 

across the mud bridge. 
Butler, Captain Green, Thirty-third and Q. 
Butterfield, John. 
Butts, C. H., lost from barge. 
Byman, Mr. and Mrs. Geo., and daughter, 

Mary, Forty-fourth and S'/i. 
Byrd, Mrs. J. C and child. 
Byrnes, , wife and sister. 

Cain, Rev. and Mrs. Thomas W. (colored). 
Calhoun, Mrs. Thomas and three children. 
Calvert, George, wife, son and daughter, 

Thirty-second and Q;^. 
Campbell, Miss Edna, Thirty-ninth and 

T'/z. 
Capers, , and wife ; lived at south-east 

corner of Forty- second and S. 
Capps, Chas C, wife and six children. 
Caroline, Alice, Elizabeth and one son, 

Edmund, two grandchildren. 
Carou, Mrs. Jenne. 
Caribaldl, August and family, Sydnor's 

bayou. 
Carlson, Charles, wife and boy, bay bridge. 
Carren, Mrs. Eugenie Souhet, washer- 
woman at the Home for the homeless. 
Carson, Frank C. and wife. 
Carter, Betsy (colored), and daughter 

Sophia. 
Carter, Miss Sophie. 
Carter, Corrine and family. 
Carter, Adeline. 
Carter, Alf, and seven children, colored, 

down the island. 
Casley, Sanders (colored), wife Samantha 

and children Samantha and Walter, 

Twenty-ninth and P'/i. 
Casey, Mrs. Amelia. 
Cazenave, Jean (milkman). 
Chaflfey, Mrs. and son. 
Chambers, Ada D., wife of J. F. Chambers, 

Fifty-seventh and M^. 
Cheek, Mrs. Mary, and one child. 
Chenivere, Mrs., shell road. 
Chester, Frank, Ellen and Mary (colored). 
Chouke, Mrs. Chris and daughter, Annie, 

down the island. 
Childs, Wm. and wife. 
Childs. J. T. 
Chrestin, Paul and wife. Thirty-ninth and 

Q- 
Christian, John (night engineer water 

works) and wife 
Christianson, Miss Annie, of Shreveport, 

who was visiting Geo. Dorian. 
Clancy, Pat, wife and five children, down 

the island. 



520 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



Clancy, Pat (screwman), wife and three 
children. 

Clark, Billy, Twenty-sixth and P, 

Clark, Cy (colored). 

Clark, Thomas. 

Clark, Mrs. C. T., and child. 

Claude, Joe and daughter, Emily. 

Clausen, Katie. 

Clear, William E., Twenty-sixth and P. 

Cleary, Mrs. Leon and one child, Virginia 
Point. 

Cleveland, George, wife and children, 
Ruth, Roy and Senreta, Twenty-seventh 
and Q. 

Cline, wife of Di . I. M. 

Close, J. N., of Chambersville, Tex. 

Cobbe, Archie, wife and two children 
(milkman), five miles down the island. 

Coates, Mrs. Wm. A. 

Cobbe, Mrs. Thomas A., and two daughters, 
down the island. 

Ooddou, Alex, and three children, Claude, 
Edward and Drouet. 

Coers, Dr. 

Coleman, Mandy and child, Elfie (colored). 

Collins, Mr. and Mrs. Ira's baby daughter. 

Colonge, Rache) and four children. 

Coltur, Joseph, longshoreman. 

Connolly, Mrs. Ellen. 

Colsburg, Frank G., wife and baby, Forty- 
sixth and Broadway. 

Colson, . 

Conget, Mrs. (colored), K, between Twelfth 
and Thirteenth. 

Conner, Captain D. E. 

Conner, Edw. J 

Connett, Mrs. Wm., and children, down 
the island. 

Connell, I\Irs. Louisa, Miss Rebecca, Peter 
and Jane (colored), Forty-third and T. 

Connett, Charles, wife and children, Forty- 
third and SYz. 

Cook, Mrs. Ida (colored), Forty-first and 
avenue U. 

Cook, Henry (colored), 3601 Q}i. 

Cook, George. 

Cook, Arthur. 

Cook, Irene. 

Cook, Ashby, of Atchison, Kans. 
^ Cook, W. Scott, wife and six children, 
I Ashbv, Edgar, Walter, Rex, Gertrude 

and Ella. 

Cooke, Marstoii, Forty-third and S. 

Corbett, J., and four children, John Munro 
Lucas, aged 8 years ; Edna May Lucas, 
aged 6 years 11 months; Arthur Louis 
Lucas, aged 5 years 4 months; Michael 
Henry Corbett, aged 4 months, 4510 
Avenue K 

Cornett, Miss Lillie, Kinkead addition. 

Cornell, Mrs. P(;ter, two daughters and son 
(colored). 



Cornett, Mrs. Eliza, Forty-first and S. 

Cornett, Charles and wife. 

Cornett, Miss Lillie. 

Cort, Cora Virginia, daughter of E. L. Corl, 

colored. 
Coryell, Patti Rosa. 
Costa, A., Virginia Point. 
Costly, Sanders and wife, and child of Alex. 

Costly (colored). 
Cowan, wife and daughter, Isabella, Seventh 

and Broadway. 

Cowan, . 

Cox, Lillie, Susie, Frances and John, jr., 

children of J. R. Cox of Malvern, Ark. 
Craig, George. 
Crain, Maggie McCrea (Mrs. C. D.), aged 

37, 2818 P)4, and children, Annie M., 

aged 15, and Charles D., aged 6. 
Cramer, Miss Bessie. 
Craw^ley, May, Lottie, Dudie and Lee. 
Credo, Will. 
Credo, child of Anthony. 
Crisby, Mrs. Fred and three children, 55th 

and Broadway. 
Cromwell, Mrs. and three daughters. 
Crow^ley, Miss Nellie and brother. 
Cuneo, Mrs. Joseph (from New Orleans, vis- 
iting Mrs. Webber). 
Cuney, R. C, and mother (colored). 
Cuney, grandma, mother of Wright Cuney 

(colored). 
Curry, Mrs. E. H. and child. 
Curtis, Mrs. J. C (colored), and one child. 
Curtis, Lulda (colored). 
Cushman, Jeanette, Arthur. 
Cushman, John Henry (stepson of Oliver 

Udell.) 



"Dago Joe " and wife, Mary, Kinkead addi- 
tion. 

Dahlgren, A. G., longshoreman. 

Dailey, Wm. E. 

Daley, Nicholas J. 

Darley, John, wife and daughter Belle. 

Darnell, W. D., and wife (colored). 

Darby, Charles. 

Davenport, Wharton, jr., Rebecca Harris 
and John Harris, children of Wharton 
and Cora Harris Davenport, avenue R 
and Fortieth. 

Davies, John R. and wife. 

Davis, Mrs. Robert and child. Fj4 and 
Tiiirty-third. 

Davis, Mrs. Ed. and three daughters, Six- 
teenth and avenue O. 

Davis, sr., Henry T. (colored). 

Davis, Irene, 3507 Q. 

Davis, Mrs. and daughter Grace. 

Davis, Mrs. T. F. 

Davis, Mrs. Alice W., and family, eight in 
all, Sixteenth and O. 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



521 



Davis, Miss Annie N., eldest daughter of 
Rhoda Milby Davis and the late Samuel 
Boyer Davis, trained nurse Sealy hos- 
pital. 

Davis, Gussie. 

Da, vis, Mrs. Mary, colored, 2017 N- 

Day, Mrs. Ellen and daughter, Miss May; 
lived at Twenty-sixth and P}^. 

Day, Willie (colored), Seventeenth, between 
MK and N. 

Day, Alfred (colored). 

Day, Miss Mamie. 

Day, Mrs. Maggie. 

Dazet, Mrs, Leon, and child. 

Dean, child of R. F. 

Deason, Mrs. Mary and son, Ed. Jefferson. 

Decie, Henry, family and mother. 

Decie, Dick and family. 

Decker, Alphonso, longshoreman. 

Deegan, Paddy. 

Deering, W. A., wife and six children. 

Deering-, John, wife and six children, Forty- 
third and U. 

DeHerete, MissLeonie, M, between Twenty- 
fifth and Twenty-sixth. 

Deboer, P C, and wife. 

Delaney, Mrs Jack and two children. 

Delaney, Joe. 

Delano, Asa P., wife and children. 

Delaya, Paul and two daughters. 

Delz, M. , and son Lenis, Thirty-seventh 
and M. 

Dempsey, Mrs. and two children. 

Dempsey, Mr. and Mrs. Robert. 

Derr, Gus, longshoreman. 

Devoti, Joe and three children, Heard's lane. 

Devoti, Mrs. Julia and two children. 

Devoti, Louis, Colorado addition. 

Devoti, " Doc," Kinkead addition. 

Dickson, Mrs. Louisa and three children, 
Eighteenth and P. 

Dickinson, Mrs. Mary and child (colored), 
Twenty-eighth and R. 

Diesing, Mary. 

Diggs, Henry, wife and four children (col- 
ored ) . 

Dinsdale, Thomas, wife and three children. 
I Dinter, Mrs. and daughter. 
- Dirks, Henry and family. 
w Dittman, Mrs. F. and son. 

Dixon, Mrs. Tom and three children. 

Doherty, Mrs. G. P., 2416 Q'/4. 

Dohonue, Misses Ellen and Mary, of Utica, 
N. Y. 

Doll, George W. and wife, Eliza, 

Doll, Frank and family. 

Donnell, W. D. , wife and one child. A son, 
aged 13 years, saved. 

Dool, Mrs C. C, i6th and A. 

Dore, , an old Frenchman. 

Dorian, George, jr., wife and two children. 

Dorian, Mrs. George and five children. 



Dorrene, Mr. and Mrs. and two daughters 

Dorsett, B. and family of five, Lamarque, 
Tex. 

Dorsey, Fannie. 

Doto, Marcus, wife and six children. 

Doty, Jonathan, P>^ and Twenty-fifth. 

Dowles, Mrs. Sam and daughter, Nora. 

Doyle, Jim. 

Dreckschroidt, H. 

Dreht, Lottie. 

Drewa, H. A. 

Driscoll, T. E., Thirtieth and Q. 

Duane, Miss Mary Coleman, of Victoria. 

Duffard, A. , county bridge keeper. 

Ducos, Octavia and Madeline. 

Duebner, William and wife and three chil- 
dren, stockpens. 

Duett, Miss Maria, old woman's home. 

Duffy, Mrs. (Mrs. W. Jones' sister), down 
the island. 

Dunham, George R., sr., and wife. 

Dunham, George R., jr., and two children. 

Dunham, Mrs. Howard C. and three chil- 
dren. 

Dunant, Frank, sr. 

Dumond, Joseph, and wife (stock yards). 

Dunton, Mrs. Adelina. 

Dunkins, Mrs. Mahaly (colored). Twenty- 
seventh and P. 

Dunningham, Richard, Tenth and L. 

Durrant, Frank, on Sidney bayou. 

Dutoniovich, John and Pinkey. 

Dykes, Thomas J. , jr. (colored). 

Earls, Mrs. Lizzie (colored). 

Eaton, F. B., Forty-fifth, between I and 

Broadway. 
Eberhard, P. and wife. 
Eberg, Mrs. Kate, Kinkead addition. 
Eckart, Will, wife and daughter. 
Ecket, William, wife and son. 
Eckett, Charles and Fred. 
Eckert, Ed and family, Sydnor's bayou. 
Edmonds, Mrs. 
Edmondson, L E. 
Edwards, A. R. G. and six children. 
Edwards, Jim, wife and family. 
Edw^ards, Miss Eliza. 
Edwards, Mrs. Jane and youngest daughter 

(colored), R. between Twenty-seventh 

and Twenty-eighth. 
Edwards, Henr\', wife and five children, 

Kincaid addition. 
Eggert, Fred and father. 
Eggert, William and son Charles. 
Ehlert, Mrs. and two daugliters. 
Ehlert, Mrs. and two daughters, down the 

island. 
Ellis, Mrs. John and three children, down 

the island. 
Ellis, Mrs. (colored), down the island. 
Eichler, Edward. 



522 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



Bichler, Mrs. A. 

Eichler, Otto. 

Eichler, Charley. 

Eichler, Albert. 

Eisraan, Paul, wife and baby. 

Eismann, Howard. 

Ellis, Mrs. Henrietta (colored), Twenty- 
eighth and R. 

EUis, Lewis (colored), down the island. 

Ellis, John and family of four, Forty-third 
and T. 

Ellis, Mrs. and family. 

Ellisor, two children of Captain Will. 

Ello, Mrs. Jos., 3624 R'^. 

Ello, Joseph, wife and two children. 

Ellsworth, John, Sixteenth and N}4. 

Englehardt, Louis (butcher). 

Eng-lehart, Mrs. Ludwig, 2024 P. 

Eng-lehart, G. C. 

Engelke, John, wife and child. 

English, John, wife and child. 

Emanuel, Joe. 

Eppendorf, Mr. and Mrs. 

Evans, Mrs. Katy and two daughters. 

Everhart, | H. 

Everhart, "Mrs. J. H. 

Everhart, Miss Lena. 

Everhart, Guy. 



Fabj, Sumpter. 

Pachan, Joe. family of. 

Faggan, Frank, avenue H, between Forty- 
third ;ind Forty fourth. 

Fages, Mrs. Frances, down the island. 

Falca, J. A. C 

Falk, Mrs. Julius, and five children, Forty- 
tliird and S. 

Falk, Gustave, Forty-third and S. 

Falke, Joseph, and three children. 

Falke, Hy. 

Falkenhaken, Mr. and. Mrs. George, Thir- 
teenth and MM- 

Pallan, Ollie. 

Farley, INIr. Thomas P and wife. 

Fawcett, Miss Isabella. 

Fawcett, Robert. 

Feco, Joseph. 

Feigle, John, sr., and wife, Caroline. 

Feigle, John, jr., and daughters, Mabel aiid 
Georgie. 

Feigle, IVIartin. 

Fellman, John, gardiner for Wm. Miller. 

Felfs, Lewis, down the island. 

Felsmann, Richard (blacksmith), wife and 
five children, Forty-sixth and Broad- 
way. 

Ferre, B 

Ferwerder, Peter, life-saving station. 

Fickett, Mrs. Anita and four children. 

Filhol, Mrs. Mary and three children, Offat's 
bayou. 



Figge, Mrs. and four children. 

Fischer, Lydia. 

Fisher, Walter Pemberton and wife, LilUe 
Harris Fisher, and children, John Harris, 
Walter Pemberton, jr., and Annie Pleas- 
ants, avenue R and Forty-first. 

Fisher, Katie, 2616 Q. 

Fisher, Jessie and Charlie, lost in Catholic 
orphan home. 

Fisher, Mrs. Mary A. (colored), Houston. . 

Fishermen, about ten Italian-Americans. * 

Flake, Fritz (sausage peddler. ) j 

Flanagan, Mrs. Martin and child. ^ 

Flanagan, wife and child, Thirty-ninth 
and K. 

Flash, Wm. 

Flash, Francis. 

Fleming, A. B., factory district. 

Floehr, Mrs. 

Fomain, Mrs. and five children. 

Ford, Emma (colored), Twenty-sixth and P. 

Fordtran, I\Irs. Claude G.,Tremontand F}4. 

Foreman, Mrs. Mamie. 

Foreman, Cassie. 

Foreman, Thomas. 

Foreman, Amos. 

Foreman, Webster. 

Forget, Julius. 

Foster, Mrs. 

Poster, Mr. and Mrs. Harry and three 
children. 

Poulkes, Wm., Mrs. Viola and Miss Lena, 
2620 P'A- 

Fox, Thomas, wife and four children, Forty 

fourth and S. 
Francis, Mrs. Maggie and child, Kinkead 

addition. 
Frank, Miss Anna, Seventeenth and Myi. 
Franks, Mrs. and daughter. 
Franck, Mrs. Augusta. 
Franklin, Geo., 1024 A. 
Frankovich, John and clerk. 

Priedolf, , wife and son. 

Fredericks, Corine. 

Prederickson, Mrs. C, P>^, between 

Eighteenth and Nineteenth. 
Fredrickson, Viola. 
Fredrickson, Mrs. and baby. 
Freytag, Fred., wife and two children 1^ 

1305 U}4- 
Fries and family. Baker Head's Lane. 
Friess, Charles, wife and child. 
Preitag, Harry. 
Preither, Mrs. Fritz. 

Fritz, wife and two children, an oysterman 
Frohne, Mrs. Charles and two children. 
Prontenac, Michael, longshoreman. 
Prostman, Mrs. Ed. and four childien. 
Fryer, Mrs. \\'. H. 
Fryer, Bessie Belle. 
Fugh, John. 
Fuller. R. H. 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



523 



Purman, Mrs. (colored), K, between Elev- 
enth and Twelfth, 
Purst, family of. 



G-ago, Joe. 

G-abel, Mr. and Mrs. (colored). 

Garibaldi, G. and wife, Virginia Point 

Gabriel, John and Dodo. 

Gairnes, Mrs. Liliie J. and two daughters, 
Sixty-first and R. 

GaissafQ, J. 

Gallisha"W, five children of the late Jim 
Gallishaw. 

G-amblin, Fred., N and F)4. 

G-arnett, Robert F., son of R. B. 

G-arrigan, Jim, down the island. 

Garrigan, Joseph. 

Gartner, Joseph, longshoreman. 

Garth, A. E. 

Garth, Mrs. A. E. 

Garth, Bertha. 

Garth, Nunie. 

Garth, Gussie. 

Gecan, Mat. 

Gehrer, Geo., wife and children. 

Gent, Robert, wife and child. 

Genter, Robert, (butcher). 

Gensen, four children of F., 1718 O. 

Geoppinger, Leopold. 

George, first sergeant battery O. 

George, Charles and wife. 

Gernaud, Mrs. John H. and three children. 

Gernaud, Mrs. Viola and child, Kate Falks, 
F}4, between Twenty-sixth and Twenty- 
seventh. 

GerlofiF, Adolph. 

GerloflF, Mr. and Mrs. William. 

Gerloff, Mrs. Emil and two children. 

GerlofF, Mrs. C. F. 

Gibbs, Thomas B., wife and four children, 
2018 FVz. 

Gibson, Miss Mary, Fortieth and S. 

Gibson, Miss Daisy (colored). 

Gibson, Miss Mary C, Forty-first and S. 

Gill, Catherine, Sarah and Harry. 

Gillis, Dan, Twelfth and M. 

Giorgio, M. 

Giozza, Mrs. Amelia, Anthony, Ross, Theo- 
dore, Virginia and Julia, lost in collapse 
of Giozza residence. 

Giusti, Adiace. 

Glass, Mrs. Wm. D., and four children. 

Glausen, Charles, and family of four. 

Gluger, E. wife and four children, 4428 
Broadway. 

Goldbeck, Mrs. E. and child, Alfred Gold- 
beck, of San Antonio. 

Goldraann, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore and 
son, Will. 

Goodwin, two girls of Mrs., Seventeenth 
between M'A and N. 



Gonzales, Andrew, wife and daughter, 

3428 Q. 
Gollmer, H. H. , wife and five children. 
Gordon, Mrs. Abe and three children. 
Gordon, Miss 
Gordon, Oscar. 
Gordon, Asker and baby. 
Gould, Loue la and Charlie. 
Gould, Duell and Charles, children of Thos. 

Geo. Gould. 
Graft, Mrs. George, and three children. 
Granberg, Alex., Twenty-seventh and 

Strand. 
Grant, Fred H. (colored). 
Grant, Mamie E. (colored). 
Graus, wife and two children, down the 

island. 

Gray, , painter, and four children. 

Green, Mrs. Lucy (colored). 

Greene, E. C, wife and daughter, R^ and 

Thirty-second. 
Greve, Mrs. J., and daughter Louise. 
Greve, Mrs. Ed., and daughters Gertrude 

and Eveline. 
Grey, R. L., and five children, Hugh, Cecil, 

James, Agnes and Lulu. 
Grief, John, wife and three children of 

John. 
, Grace, cook for Mrs. V. C Hart, 

1624 Myi. 

Grisafla, Joe, wife and two children. 

Groom, Ed., and wife. 

Grothgar, Mrs. Fred, and four children. 

GrosskofF, Mrs., 13th and M. 

Gruetzmacher, Louis and family, Thirty- 
eighth and Syi- 

Guest, Mamie. 

Gustason, Gus (Denver resurvey). 

Genning, Tim and wife. 

Guy, Henry, down the island. 

Grunaberg, Alex, supposed to belong to 
life-saving station. 

Haag, three children of Mrs. Annie Burgess 

Haag. 
Haarar, Martin, wife and child. 
Hagens, George, longshoreman, and wife. 
Haines, wife of Captain Ed. Haines. 
Hall, Mrs. (colored), 15th and N, died day 

after flood. 
Hall, Charles (colored). 
Hall, Melva and Eldred. 
Hall, Joe and family (colored), R, between 

Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth. 
Halm, Frieda, Tiiirty-sixth and S}4- 
Hance, Mrs. Emma and daughter, nine mile 

post, down the island. 
Hanemann, Mrs., down the island. 
Hansen, Dick, wife and three children. 
Hanson, J. C. H., longshoreman. 
Harold, Laura or Lula. Vwenty-seventh and 

Church. 



524 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



Harris, Lewis, 2310 avenue Q. 

Harris, Mrs. Jane (colored), Twenty-eighth 
and R. 

Harris, Thosman, wife and three children, 

Harris, George and wife (colored). 

Harris, Mrs. Emma, Fred and Robert, 4510 
Broadway. 

Harris, Mrs-, four miles down the island. 

Harris, Minnie. 

Harris, Effie (colored). 

Harris, L. 

Harris, Mrs. John and three children. 

Harris, Rebecca Perry, R and Forty-first. 

Harris, wife and four children of John Har- 
ris, milkman, down the island. 

Harris, George and family (liremncii. 

Hairis, Thomas, wife and tlirec c.ilidren. 

Harris, Robert, wife and one child. 

Harris, George, Forty-sixth and Broadway. 

Harris, Mrs. (colored). 

Harrison, Tom and wife (colored). 

Hart, Thomas Leo, son of Mrs. Pauline 
Hart, Thirty-ninth and T}i. 

Harvey, wife and child, Forty-second and 
M. 

Haslers, Charles, wife and child. 

Haucis, Mrs., one child, nine miles down 
the island. 

Haughton, Mrs. W. W. 

Hauser, Lewis. 

Hauser, H. and wife. 

Hausing-er, Mr. H. A., daughter and mother- 
in-law. 

Hawkins, Mrs. Mary Lee, Tenth and Win- 
nie. 

Hayes, child of Mrs. Era, of Taylor, Tex. 

Haymann, Mrs. John A., and five children, 
Kinkead addition. 

Haynes, Miss L. (colored), ser\'ant of D. G. 
Chinn. 

Hear, L., wife and twelve children, down the 
island. 

Heckler, Charles (white painter). 

Hefty, Rudolph, Thirty-seventh and S. 

Heg-mann, E. D., st., wife and children, 
Albert, Emma and E. D., jr,. seven miles 
down island. 

Heideman, V\'m.. Jr 

Heinroth, Annie, 3610 K. 

Heinroth. H. and three children. 

Hettnan, Anton (ex alderman), wife and 
three children. 

Helfenstein, Jr., John (child), Fifty-eighth 
and Postoffice streets. 

Helfenstein, Sophie and Lily, children of W. 

Henbach, Charles F., and son. 

Hening, A. B., Factory district. 

Hennesey, Mrs. M. P. 

Henry, child of Officer D, W. Henry. 

Hermann, W. J., 3714 SK- 

Herman, Mrs. and five children. 

Herman, Martin and two children. 



Hermann, Mrs. R. M. and child, Heard's 

lane, Shell road. 
Herres, John and A- 
Hersey, Mrs. John. 
Hess, Aug. and family. Thirty-eighth and 

Hess, bugler, battery O. 

Hess, Miss Irene. 

Hester, Charlie. 

Heuss, G. August, wife and three children. 

Heydown, VV. and wife, R, between Thirty- 
fourth and Thirty-fifth. 

Higgins, Mrs. 

High, J. B., and wife. 

Hilgenbug, Jacob, wife and baby. 

Hill, Mrs. Ben and two children. 

Hoarer, Martin, wife and son. 

Hodge, George, wife and son (colored). 

Hodge, Mrs. Williams (colored). 

Hodge, Henrietta. 

Hodge, Georgie. 

Hodge, James. 

Hodge, Gertrude. 

Hodge, Clarence. 

Hoch, Mrs. and three sons, Mike, Willie and 
Louis. 

Hoffman, Mrs. Pauline, Houston, nurse. 

HofiExnan, family. 

Hoffman, Harry H. 

Hoffman, Miss Augusta. 

Hoisington, J. A. (missing). 

Holbeck, Mrs. L. L. 

Holland, James H , wife and son Willie, and 
grandson James Otis. 

Holland (colored), M}4, between Fourteenth 
and Fifteenth. 

Holland, Mrs. lames. 

Holmberg, John, wife and three children, 
Fortj'-fourth and T. 

Holms, Mrs. Emma (colored), 2828 avenue P. 

Holmes, child of Laura (colored). 

Holmes, Florence (colored). 

Homburg, Joe, wife and four children, Kin- 
kead addition. 

Homburg, Mrs. Peter and four children, 
3528 R. 

Homburg, William, wife and two children. 

Hood, Bessie (colored). 

Hoskins, Mrs. Helen, Twenty-eighth and 

Hoskins, T. D., wife and three children 
(colored). 

HoTve, Adolph, wife and five children. 

Howell, Sidney, longshoreman. 

Howell, Mrs. Addeline, 2824 avenue P. 

How^ke, Mrs. and four sons. 

Howth, Mrs. Clarence. 

Howth, Miss. 

Hubner, Edward and Antoinette, Twenty- 
first and P. 

Hubach, Charles. 

Hubbell, Misses Emma and Maggie. 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



525 



Hudson, Mrs. 

Huebner, Mrs. A. F. 

Huebner, Earl. 

Huess, A., wife and children. 

Hughes, Mrs. Mattie. 

Hughes, Stuart G. 

Hughes, Robert (colored). 

Hughes, Mrs. M. W. (colored), Twenty- 
ninth and Thirtieth, between L and M. 

Huhn, Mr. F. 

Hulbert, Mrs. Victoria, Miss Minnie, Walter 
and Hallie(ail colored), Forty-first and U. 

Hull, Willie (colored), Twenty-eighth and 

Hull, Charlie (colored, Twentv-eighth and 

Hume, Stephen (colored). 

Humburg, Ed. (milkman), down the island, 

Humbtirg, Mamie, 

Hunter, Geo., and two children, island. 

Hunter, Mrs. Alice, and brother and father 

and three children. 
Hurt, Walter, wife and two children, their 

German cook and half grown boy. 
Huzza, Charles,, wife and five children. 
Hylenberg, Jacob, wife and child, N and 

Seventeenth. 

lovey. Mrs. C. (colored), worked at beach. 

Iresco, James, east end 

Iryin, child of Wm. H. 

Ir"win, wife and two sisters of Will 

Iwan, Mrs. A, 

Jack, Mrs. Pearl A., and two daughters. 
Forty-second and R. 

Jackman, Ada, and two children. 

Jackson, Mr. and Mrs., and daughter, 
Mabel, Forty-third and SX- 

Jackson, Sarah M., between Twenty -sixth 
and Twenty- seventh. 

Jacobs, H., wife and children. 

Jaeger, Mr. and Mrs., and three children, 
Oyi between Twenty-eighth and Twen- 
ty ninth. 

Jaeger, Wm. H,, Tenth and Broadway. 

Jaeger, John and wife, Eighth and Winnie. 

Jaeger, H W. 

Jaenicke, Mrs. Curt, and three children. 

Jackson, J. W., Mrs., and two children. 
Forty-sixth and K. 

Jalonick, Ed., wife and two children, all of 
Dallas. 

Jasper, two children of Perry (colored). 

Jay, William (missing). 

Jay, son of J P., down the island. 

Jefferbrock, Mr. and Mrs. August, and 
child. 

Jewell, J., wife and four children and mo- 
ther-in-law (milkman), down the island. 

John, Henry V., working for E. Allen, 
Forty-third and S. 



Johnson, T. D., longshoreman 

Johnson, Christopher, lived at 1918 P^z. 

Johnson, Lorand, wife and four children, 
Forty-third and S. 

Johnson, Sydney, child of R. H. Johnson. 

Johnson, A., and wife, Edith Grey Johnson. 

Johnson, Mrs. C S., 1715 N^. 

Johnson, child of J. F. Johnson.. 1715 N//^. 

Johnson, Richard (colored). 

Johnson, Mrs. Wm. 

Johnson, Adin, wife and son. 

Johnson, Peter, wife and five children, 
(milkman), down the island. 

Johnson, Mrs. P., and child. 

Johnson, Julian. 

Johnson, "R. D. , wife and two children. 

Johnson, one child of Billy. 

Johnson, Mrs. Genevieve W., and daughter, 
Forty-fifth and K. 

Johnson, W. J., wife and two children. 

Johnson, Mrs. Ben, and two children. 

Johnson, Oakey. wife, child and mother-in- 
law. 

Johnson, Mrs. H. B., and child. 

Johnson, A. S., (screwman), wife and six 
children. 

Johnson, Miss Mary, 2 113 Thirty-third st. 

Johnson, Dan (colored) Thirty-eighth and 
T. 

Johnston, Mrs. Clara, wife of Bernard, and 
two children, Thirty-second and K. 

Johnston, Mrs. H. P. 

Johnston, Harry P. and wife, Minnie, and 
baby boy, Ninth and I. 

Johnston, J. Bernard, wife and two chil- 
dren, avenue R, between Thirty-second 
and Thirty-third. 

Johnston, Mrs. Alice R., Twelfth and M>^. 

Jones, Mrs. W. D., 3020 Q. 

Jones, Katie (colored), servant of Rev. Ht 
C. Dunham, 102 1 avenue I. 

Jones, Mary, Sarah, Annie and Lizzie. 

Jones, Jackson (colored). 

Jones. John A., and wife, Twenty-first and 

Jones, J,. H., and wife. 

Jones, Frank, son of Fred (colored). 

Jones, Mrs. W. R. and child. 

Jones, Robert. 

Jones, Fred and wife (colored). 

Jones, Walter, Mrs., and two children, 

down the island. 
Jones, Mabel, adopted daughter of Mrs. 

Ella Roach, Thirty-ninth and Qy,. 
Jones, Mrs. Matilda VV., and daughter Mary 
Jones, Sallie (colored), 1715 N;^. 
Jones, Ernest, Fortieth and RVz. 
Jones, Evan, and four children, Fortieth 

and R>^. 
Jones, William, sr., Fortieth and RK- 
Jones, Dora (colored), servant of James 

Irwin. 



526 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



Jordan, Charles A. 

Joughin, Tony, former drummer in the 
Immune regiment. 

Joug-uin, Tony, jr., boatman, found at Eng- 
lish bayou. 

Joyce, Mrs. E. |and four children. Forty- 
fourth and S. 

Jufifs, Ben., wife and four children, 1817 0)4. 

Junemann, Charles, wife and daughter. 

Junka, Martha, daughter of VV. P. 

Junka, Mrs. Pauline. 

Junker, William, wife and child. 

Junker, Mrs. Collins. 

Justinus, Hammond, wife and five children, 
and Mrs. Colbert, mother of Mrs. Jus- 
tinus, Twenty-seventh and Q. 

Kaiser, Louis, wife and three children, 
Forty-third and S>2. 

Kaper, August, wife and one child, Forty- 
second and S. 

Kauffinan, Mrs. Elizabeth, Tenth and M. 

Kauffman, Mrs. Chas. 

Kauffman, Mr. Henry. 

Kauffman, baby Margaret. 

Keates, Thomas and wife. 

Keates, Miss Tillie, Thirty-eighth and 1 . 

Keeton, Mrs. J. O. and three children. 

'iC^ehler, Mrs. Fred, two girls and boy. 

Keis, Mrs. John. 

Keis, Miss Jodie. 

Keis, Mrs. Louisa and four children. 

Keiflfer, wife and daughter. 

Keller, Bp.rney J., wife and four children, 
2401 Thirty-seventh street. 

Kelley, Thos., wife, three children and niece. 

Kelley, Dan., sr. 

Kelner, Charles L., sr., 

Kelly, Florence. 

Kelly, Barney. 

Kelly, Willie. 

KeUy, , wife and three children. 

Kelly, Mike. 

Kelso, Munson J., jr. 

Kelso, Roy, baby boy of J. C. Kelso. 

Kelsy, James. 

Kemp, Thomas W. and wife, 4205 S. 

Kemp, Elizabeth, and son Samuel (colored), 
down the island. 

Kemp, John W., florist, Forty-second and .S. 

Kemp, W. C. and wife. 

Kennely, Mrs. Annie 

Kennedy, Benton, wife and three children, 
Thirty-seventh and R. 

Kemp, Pearlie (colored), down the island. 

Keough, John, wifeand four children, island. 

Keogh, Mrs. and three children, Kinkead 
addition. 

Kessler, Joseph. 

Kessler, Frederick and daughter. 

Kessler, Aug. 

Kessler, Emma. 



Kessler, Gussie. 

Kessner, August and children, Gussie and 
Emma, Kinkead addition. 

KiUcoer, E , wife and children. 

Kimley, Mrs. John and family, Pooleville. 

Kindie, I. M., and family. 

Kindsfather, Joseph, wife and three chil- 
dren. Forty-sixth and K, 

King, Mrs. (colored). 

King, Rosa J. (colored). 

Kindlund, Ejnar. 

Kirby, James, (section foreman) and three 
men. 

Kirby, Mrs. George and two children. 

Kirby, Mrs. J. H. and three children. 

Kissinger, Mrs. M. J., Eleventh and M. 

Klein, Ed., wife and two children, nine 
miles down the island. 

Klein, Mrs, E. V. 

Kleinecke, Mrs. H. and children, except 
Hermann, Fifty-seventh and T. 

Kleinecke, Mrs., H. and Thirth-eighth. 

Kleinemer, Mrs. Herman and six children. 
Galveston Island. 

Kleiman, Joe, wife, child and two work- 
men, milkman, down the island. 

Kleiman, Mrs. John and child. 

Kleimann, wife and eight children of H. 

Klinemann, John, wife and one child, a 
milkman and three hired men 

Knowles, Mrs. W. T. and three children. 

Koch, Mrs. Elizabeth, M, between Ninth 
and Tenth. 

Koch, Wm., sr.. Tenth and Eleventh on 
Broadway. 

Kolb, A. J., wife and child. 

Kolb, infant of C. L. 

Konstanstopulo, Thriandefel, Twenty- 
fourth and Beach (candy stand near 
Olympia). 

Kothe, Wm., Q, between Twenty- fifth and 
Twenty-sixth. 

Kotte, Wm. C. 

Krausse, John, Joseph and Catherine. 

Koch, Wm., sr., island. 

Krecek, Joseph, wife and three sons. 

Kj-oener, Will. 

Kroener, Sophie. 

Kroener, Florie. 

Kuder, Ed. and wife. 

Kuhl, Miss Edna. 

Kuhn, Mrs. Oscar and children. 

Kuhnel, Mrs. H. Clem and two children. 

Kupper, Mr., between Forty-second and 
Forty-third on S. 

Kurpan, Paul, clerk at Star mills, and wife. 
Thirteenth and N. 

Lackey, Mrs. Mary B., and four daughters. 
Pearl, lima and two others and daughter- 
in-law, Thirty-ninth and S}4. 

Lanahan, Laura. 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



527 



Lanahan, four children of John, Twenty- 
ninth and B. 

Landrum, B. and five children, Bolivar. 

Lane, Rev. and family. 

Lane, F. and family. 

Liang, five children of Peter. 

Labbatt, H. J., Sr., wife and daughter, 
Nellie. 

Labbatt, Joe, wife and four children. 

Lafayette, Mrs. A. C. and children. 

Lament, Richard P. 

La Piere, James, wife and five children. 
Forty-third and S. 

Larsen, Ed., boatkeeper of pilot boat 
Eclipse. 

Larson, Charles E. 

Larson, H. and two children. 
A Lasoeco, Mrs. 

Lashley, Mrs. Dave. 

Lauderdale, Mrs. Robert and two daugh- 
ters, one son and Mrs. Lauderdale's 
mother. 

Laukhuff, Genexive. 

Lausen, Mrs. Will and one child. 

Lausen, Aug and three children, Thirty- 
ninth and avenue S. 

Lawsing, Mrs., mother of Mrs.J . W. Munn, 
sr. 

Lawson, Charles E. , longshoreman. 

Leagett, Mrs. and three children, nine miles 
on bay shore down the island. 

League, three children of Mrs. Lillie. 

Leask, Maury, clerk of William Burge, 
Colorado addition. 

Leberman, Lee H., 1426 N}4. 

Leberman, Prof. H. A. (missing), 1426 N>^. 

Ledtsch, Theodore. 

Lee, Captain G. A. and wife. 

Lees, Mrs. Elizabeth. 

Legat, Mrs. Celia and family of six, addi- 
tion. 

Legate, three brothers, down the island. 

Lehman, Charles and son, Forty-fifth and K. 

Lemire, Joseph, wife and four children. 

Lemons, Mrs. Celestine (colored). Twenty- 
eighth and R. 

Lena, Mrs. 

Lenker, Tommy. 

Lennard, Fred, aged 4 years, 4512 K. 

Lenz, August, longshoreman. 

Leon, , butcher, and two children, avenue 

N, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth. 

Leonard, Bernard. 

Leslie, Miss Gracie. 

Letterman, W., wife and three children. 

Letts, Captain, wife, two children, sister-in- 
law and one of her children, Kinkead. 

Leutsch, Theodore, Thirtieth and K. 

Levine, Mrs. P., daughter and sons, Leo 
and Carroll. 

Levy. W. T., United States immigration 
inspector and late major of First United 



States volunteer regiment, wife and three 
children. 

Lewis, Mrs. Agnes (colored) 

Lewis, Miss Agnes (colored). 

Lewis, Mrs. C. A. (colored), 44th and R. 

Lew^is, Mrs. Jake and six children, Forty- 
sixth and L. 

Lewis, Mrs. Maria (colored). 

Lewis, Elizabeth Eunice, 1015 M'/i. 

Lindgren, John, wife and seven children 
(Miss Lillie, eldest daughter, saved). 

Lindquist, Mrs. Oscar and three children. 

Lisbony, W. H., wife and son, W. H., jr. 

Lisbony, Miss Eunice, daughter of C. P. 
Lisbony. 

Livingston, Mrs. Frances. Thirty-second 
and R. 

Lloyd, W. 

Lloyd, " Buck " and wife. 

Lloyd, Charles H., wife and child. 

Lloyd, S. O., Twenty-seventh and ?'/2. 

Locke, Mrs Mary 

Lockhart, Charles, Mrs. and two children, 
Forty-second and S^. 

Lockhart, Albert. 

Lockmann, Mr. and Mrs H. 

Loesberg, Miss Minnie. 

Long, two children of Sergeant. 

Longnecker, Mrs. A. 

Lorance, Mrs. T. A. 

Losico, Mrs. Fillimena, daughter, three 
grandchildren and son in-law. 

Lord, Richard. 

Lossing, Mrs. Sarah A, Fifty-second and S. 

Love, R. A. (officer). 

Love, Ed. Grenn. 

Lucas, Mrs. William, and two sons, John, 
aged 16 years and 9 months, and David 
Edward, aged 13 years and 9 months. 4428 
avenue K, wife and sons of William 
Lucas, foreman car repair shop Galves- 
ton, Houston and Henderson railway, 
who was on a vacation in Arkansas at 
the time of the catastrophe. 

Lucas, two children of Mrs. David, 4512 ave- 
nue K. 

Lucas, Mr. and Mrs. H., two children and 
white nurse. 

Ludwig, Alfred, mother and sister-in-law. 

Ludeke, Henry, wife and son. 

Ludewig, E. A. and mother. 

Ludwig, Albert. 

Lukenbell, B. E. and wife. 

Lumberg, Willie and Lena, down the island. 

Lumburger, Gus, wife and nine children, 
Forty-third and S>^. 

Lundberg, Gus. 

Lungren, Gus. 

Luvis, Mark (colored), wife and two chil- 
dren. 

Lyle, W. W. 

Lynch, A. 



528 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



Lynch, Peter, Forty-third and R. 

JLynch, John. 

Lynch, James and wife, 2616 Q. 

Macgill, Unagh, daughter of D. Macgill. 

Mackey, Mrs. W. G. and four children (col- 
ored), M}i, between Thirteenth and 
Fourteenth. 

MacUn, John and family. 

Maclin, J. D., wife and seven children. 

Maclin, W. L,, wife and three children, 
down the island. 

Magill, David, Q, between Twenty-sixth and 
Twenty-seventh . 

Malitz, Theodore. 

Males, O. M., wife and two children. 

Maltzberger, Tony, and family. 

Manier, Miss Fisa. 

Manning, Mark (colored). 

Manly, Joe, mother and two nieces of Mr. 
Manly, Sr. 

Mansfield, Caroline, and mother (colored). 
Sixteenth, between Nj^ and O. 

Marcotte, Miss Pauline. 

Marcovich, Mat, wife and three children, 
Mud bridge. 

Marquette, Mrs. Pauline. 

Marsh, sergeant, battery O. 

Marshall, Mrs. Harry K., Thirty-fifth and S. 

Mabson, Grace and three children (colored), 
K, between Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth. 

Martin, Frank, wife and one son. 

Martin, Miss Annie. 

Martin, Frank and one son. 

Martyr, Mrs. R. 

Massie, T. A. 

Massie, E., wife and child. 

Masterson, Annie Dallam, wife of. Branch 
T., avenue R and Thirty-ninth. 

Matthews, Harry L. 

Mati, Amedio. 

Maxwell, Robert and Mary, Twenty-eighth 
and Pl4- 

Maudy, Mrs. and daughter (colored), M}4, 
between Sixteenth and Seventeenth. 

Maupin, Jos., in Kinkead addition. 

McCamish, R. A., wife and two daughters. 

McOann, William, wife and six children. 

McCann, J as. 

McOarty, Leon L. (colored). 

McOauley, Prof. J. P. and wife, Lucas Ter- 
race. 

McOauley, William H., Mrs. William H., 
Eugene, Annie and Dewey, lost at Ciozza 
residence. 

McCauUey, J., and wife, Thirty fourth and 
P'2. 

McOaughlar, Iralia (colored). Twenty sev- 
enth and P. 

McCluskey, Mrs. Charles and three chil- 
dren. 

McCormick, Mrs. D. and four children. 



McCulloug-h, A. Rallar (colored). 
McOune, John, Sixth and I. 
McDade, Mrs. E. (colored). 
McDade, Ed. (colored). 
McDonald, Jerry (helper Jones dairy). 
McDonald, Mrs. Mary, and son. 
McDonald, Mrs. (widow). Fourteenth, be- 
tween L and M. 
McGoveren, James. 
McEwen, John, island. 
McGill, D. K. 
McGowan, Jim. 
McGra"w, Peter and wife. 
McGuire, John. 

McKenna, J. P., wife and two children. 
McKenna, P. J., and two children. 
McLean, John, bartender. 
McManus, Mrs. W. H. 
McMillan, Mrs. M. J. 
McMillan, Mrs., Kinkead addition. 
McNeal, Mrs. James and child. 
McNeil, Hugh, and baby, and Miss Jennie 

McNeil. 
McPeters, wife and two children. 
McPherson, Robert (colored). 
McVeigh, Mrs. J. M. and Miss Lorena, 

Forty-fourth and Broadway. 
Mead, James, Twelfth and I. 
Mealy, Mrs. John. 
Mealy, Joseph. 
Mees, W. H., longshoreman. 
Megna, Mrs. G. 

Megna, F., wife and two children. 
Megna, Mrs. Joe, Nineteenth and P. 
Megna, one child of Mike, Nneteenth and P. 
Megnar, Crocifisso. 
Mellor (better known as Miller), Robert, a 

butcher, and wife. Twenty-seventh and O. 
Mellor, M. O., Twenty-seventh, between Q 

and Q}4- 
Menzell, John, wife and five children. 
Merick, Eugene, and mother, down the 

island. 
Merick, John, wife and child (milkman) 

down the island. 
Mestry, Charlotte (colored). 
Meyer, Henry and four children. 
Meyer, Chris, (missing). 
Meyer, Tilden, Forty-third and T}4- 
Middelegge, Sophie, mother of Ernest 

Middelegge. 
Middlegge, Erne,->t H., wife and three sons, 

Harry, aged 13; Adolf, aged 10, and 

Robert, aged 8. { 

Midlegge, August, wife and five children. 
Midlegge, Aug. , sr., wife and three children. 
Midlegge, George, wife and famiiy. 
Middleburger, " George, wife and three 

children. 
Middleburger, John, wife and three chil 

dren. 
Migel, Meyer. 



NAM*:S OF THE VICTIMS. 



529 



Mihal, Mrs. A. , and three children. 
Milan, wife and four children of J. H. 
Miller, Gns., wife and three children, Fifty- 
eighth and Broadway. 
Miller, Frank, oysterman. 
Miller, Henry, and family, Sydnor's bayou. 
Miller, Chas. Mrs., and six children, M}4, 

between Sixteenth and Seventeenth. 
Miller, Mr. , wife and six children, Galveston 

island, bay shore. 
Miller, Wm., and wife. 
MiUer, Mrs. S. 

Miller, Mrs., and five children (colored). 
Miller, E. O., twenty-one miles down the 

island. 
Millo, Mrs. Joe and two children, down the 

island. 
Minnis, Mrs. W. P. (A. S. Minnis from 

Chicago), and S. A. Minnis, Forty-fifth 

and Broadway. 
Minor, Lucian. 

Mitchell, Miss Nola, Thirty-ninth and Q><. 
Mitchell, Louis D. (colored). 
Mitchell, Mrs. Annie and son, Twenty-sixth, 

between Q and Q%. 
MitcheU, Mrs. C. R., W. P., Jennie E., 

Anna and P. L., Thirty-ninth and Q}i. 

Moffatt, , wife and two children. 

Monghan, Mike and family. 

Monghan, John and wife. 

Monroe, (colored), Mrs. and three children, 

Moran, James and wife. 

Moore, Cecelia, Loraine, Vera and Mildred, 

children of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Moore. 

Kinkead addition. 
Moore, Robert. 

Moore, Miss Maggie (Seventeenth and Qj4' 
Moore, Mrs. Nathan (colored). 
Moore, Wm. (" Dock") and wife. 
Moore, Mrs. Nathan. 
Moore, Alex., butcher. 
Moore, Estelle (colored). 
Monteleone, Marie Miss, Hitchcock. 

Moree, , works with Joseph Fachan. 

Morino. 

Morley, Rev. and wife. 

Morley, David, and wife. 

Moreo, Dotto, wife and seven children. 

Morris, Harry, wife and four children. 

Morseburger, Antonia and wife. 

Morton, Hammond and four children. 

Morse, Albert P., wife and three children. 

Moserger, . 

Mott, Mrs. Louisa. 
Mott, Mrs. B. F., Sydnor's bayou. 
Motter, Mrs. and two daughters. 
Mulcahey, two children of J., of Houston. 
Muletz, Theo., wife and daughter. 
Mulholland, Mrs. Louisa, old woman's 

home. 
Muller, Henry, wife and three childen. 
Mulsberger, Charles and family, (butcher). 
34 



Mtilsburger, Tony. 

Mundine, Mrs. Meria E. 

Munkennelt, Frank, longshoreman. 

Munn, Mrs. J. W., sr. 

Murie, Mrs. Annie and daughter, Laurina 

Muti, Amedeo, killed in rescue work. 

Myer, Herman, wife and son Willie. 

Myers, Willie. 

Myers, Mrs. C. J. and one child. 

Napoleon, Henry, wife and sister (colored > 

Neal, a fisherman. 

Necey, Conrad, wife and six children. Forty- 
fourth and S. 

Neiman, Charley. 

Nermann, Mrs. and Miss Dora. 

Neimeyer, Henry, wife and five children. 

Neinaeyer, J., and family (farmer). 

Neil, E. 

Nelson, H., longshoreman. 

Nelson, Mrs. Alice and three children, 
Thirty-fifth and S. 

Nelson, Mrs. P. F. and three children. 
Thirty-fifth and S. 

Nelson, John P. 

Nelson, Mrs. and daughter. 

Nelson, John J., longshoreman. 

NeuTvlller, Wm., wife and three children, 
Thirty- seventh and Q>^. 

Newell, Sydney, longshoreman. 

Nokis, Nettie May, stepdaughter of Louia 
Gruetzmacher. 

Nolan, Mrs. 

NoUey, Mrs. Sam and four children. 

North, Miss Archie. 

Norton, Mrs. F. S., and son Henry, 3507 
Avenue Q. 

Norton, Mrs. and two children. 

Norwood, Alberta (colored). Sixteenth, be- 
tween M)4 and N. 

Norwood, Mrs. Susie (colored), and baby. 
Sixteenth, between M}4 and N. 

Nuel, R., wife and children. 

Oakley, F., shooting gallery man. 

Oats, Charlotte (colored). 

Oberg, Hans. 

O'Oonnell, Mrs. 

O'Connor, Mamie. 

O'Dell, Miss Nellie. 

Ohlson, Enfred, 1714 O. 

O'Donnell, James K., and wife, Thirtj'-third 
andQ. 

O'Dowd, Zeta. 

Ofte, F. and family, down the islancf. 

O'Harrow, Wm. 

Ohlsen, Mrs. Adolph, 1714 O. 

O'Keefe, C. J. and wife. 

O'Neill, James and Frank, sons of James, 
orphans' home. 

O'Neill, Lawrence, son of James, Thirty- 
fourth and P. 



530 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



O'Neill, wife and five children, an oyster- 
man, with four hired men. 

Olds, Charlotte (colored). 

Oleson, Otto, longshoreman. 

Olaen, T. H., wife and two children. 

Olsen, Ed. 

Olsen, Mrs. Matilda and two children. 

Olsen, Miss Clara. 

Olsen, Stephen and Charles. 

Olsen, O. A. (carpenter), wife and three 
children. 

Opitz, Anita. 

Oppe, Fritz (milkman). 

Oppermann, Albert L. and wife, Ninth, be- 
tween J and K. 

Opperaian, Miss May of Palestine, and 
Marguerite and Gussie Opperman. 

Ormond, five children of George. 

Otterson, A. and wife, K, between Forty- 
fourth and Forty-fifth. 

Ostermayer, sr., and wife. 

Ostermayer, Frist. 

Ostermayer, Henry and wife. 

O'Shaughnessy, Antoinette Pauline, 1514 
Mechanic. 

O'Tolsee, H. E,, longshoreman. 

Otterson, Andy. 

One Laborer, at Dr. Fry's dairy. 



Paisley, A. H. and wife, 610^ K. 

Palmieri, Salvatore, wife and five children, 
Hitchcock. 

Parobich, John, wife and three children, 
down the island. 

Parobich, Michael, wife and four children, 
down the island 

Paetz, Mrs. Lina, wife of Louis Paetz, teams- 
ter at mills. 

Paisley, Wm. (colored). 

Palmer, Mrs. J. B. and child. 

Park, Mrs. M. L., and Misses Alice and 
Lucy, Twelfth and K. 

Parker, Miss Mary E., 1502 M. 

Parker, Mrs, Ethel. 

Parker, Mrs. Frank and two children, 

Parker, Sullivan, wife and three children. 

Pashetag-, Mrs. E. and three children, 
Louise, Eddie and Gertrude — lost at La- 
marque. 

Paskall, Augustine and wife, Madeline, 
Galveston island. 

Pasquale, S. 

Paterson, Miss S. (colored), of Houston. 

Patrick, Maria (colored), Thirty-ninth, be- 
tween N and N>^. 

Patrick, Ida and Cora (colored). 

Patrick, Mrs. Susan (colored). Thirty-ninth 
and N. 

Patterson, H. T., wife and children. 

Patterson, Thompson (carpenter), and wife 
and four children, Thirty-first and Beach. 



Pattison, Florence. 

Pattou, Thomas (colored), 

Pauls, Willie and Walder, 1708 N. 

Pauls, Miss Agnes, S j^, between Thirty -sixth 

and Thirty-seventh. 
Pauly, Mr. and Mrs. 
Paysee, Mrs. Henry and two children 

(Leona and Louise), 
Peco, Leon, wife and four children, Walter, 

August, Mary and Francis, four miles 

west of city, 
Pecco, Lee. 

Peek, Capt. R. H., wife and six children. 
Peetz, Mrs. J. J., and daughters, Tillie and 

Stella. 
Peitzlin, Rudolph and Robbie. 
Pellenze, Mrs, and mother. 
Penny, Mrs. A. and two sons. Forty-fourth 

and S. 
Perkins, Albert (colored). Thirty -second 

and QK. 
Perkins, Lucy (colored). 
Perkins, Lota (colored). 
Perkins, Mrs. L. and two children (col 

ored), 3601 Q)^, 
Perkins, Alfred, wife and grandson (col- 
ored), 0>^, between Twenty sixth and 

Twenty-seventh. 
Perkins, Arthur (colored), Thirty-second 

and Q>^, 
Perrier, H., wife and child, Eighteenth, be- 
tween N)4 and O. 
Perkins, Cecile (colored), 2820 Ryi. 
Perry, Mrs. Harry M. and son Clayton, 
Perry, Mrs. and child, of Houston. 
Perry, Jasper, jr., wife and two children 

(colored). 
Perry, Mrs. Oliver (colored). 
Peters, Fritz and wife, Twentieth and P}i. 
Peters, Robert, Thirty-third and S. 
Peters, Rudolph (saddler). Thirty-third 

and S. 
Peterson, George (soldier), wife and two 

children, Forty-third and R. 
Peterson, Charles, wife and two children. 
Peterson, Mrs. A. and four children, 

Eighth and J. 
Peterson, Mrs. J. and children. 
Peterson, H. G. and two boys, lived neai 

race track, down the island. 
Petterson, K. G. , wife and child. 
Pettit, Walter, 3711 L. 
Pettit, W. R. 
Pettinglll, W. 
Pettingill, W. H., wife and three sons, 

Walter W., James and Norman (miss- 
ing). Thirty-third and S. 
Phelps, Miss Ruth M., Forty-first and S. 
Phelps, Mrs. Mamie Love and two children 

(colored), down the island. 
Pierson, Mrs, Mary and Alice 
Pierson, Frank. 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



531 



Pilford, W., Mexican cable company, and 
four children, Madge, Willie, Jack and 
Georgianna, Twenty-fifth and Q. 
Finer, Mrs. Ella (colored). 
Piney, Mrs. (colored). 
Pinto, Mrs. Tony, William and George, 

Offatt's bayou. 
Pischos,, Mr. and Mrc, country road 
Pisi, C. L. 
Pittel, Mrs 
Pix, C. S. 

Pizzolenza, Mrs. and four children, Hitch- 
cock, 
putt, Herman. 
Poland, Ed. and sister. 
Polk, Cornelius and Violet (colored). 
Pond, Miss Mary. 
Popular, Mr. and Mrs. A. and four children, 

Agnes, Mamie, Clarence and Tony. 
Poree, Henry. 
Poretto, Josephyne. 

Potthoff, Mrs. C. and five children, Amelia, 
Annie, Charles, Robert and Mabel, R., 
between Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth. 
Potter, C H., and little daughter. 
Powell, William and wife Eva, Forty-sixth 

and K. 
Powers, Mrs. Carrie B., 151 1 avenue N. 

Powers, and child. 

Powers, Mrs., mother-in-law of A. R. G. 

Edwards. 
Praker, J., wife and child. 
Praker, William. 
Pratt, Mrs. Laura, 3602 T. 
Pratt, Miss Lillian Desautch, 3602 T. 
Preismuth, Mrs. Fred and three children. 
Pi'uessner, Mrs., and three children 
Pruessner, Heinrich, down the island. 
Prophet, Marie (colored). 
Pryor, Ed., wife and four children, Thirty- 
seventh and S. 



Quester, Bessie, 

Questor. Mrs. M. , son and daughter. 
Quin, Mrs. Mary and child. Eighth and L. 
Quinn, Mrs. Thomas, Eighth and L. 
Quinn, John, engineer, Sixth and H, (miss- 
ing). 

Raab, George W. and wife. 
Radeker, Mrs. Herman and child. 
Radford, Mattie Eva (colored), Thirty- 
second and Q}i- 
Radford, Claudie G. (colored). 
Radford, John A. (colored). 
Raleigh, Miss Lelia, 816 Winnie. 
Randolph, Edith (colored). 
Raphael, Nick. 
Ravey, family. 

Rayburn, Crawford, 1624 M}4. 
Ratisseau. P. A. -C, ; 



Ratisseau, Baptiste, wife and three chil- 
dren (Louis saved). 

Ratisseau, J. B., wife and four children. 

Ratisseau, C. A., wife and seven children. 

Ratisseau, Mrs. W. L., and three cliildren. 

Ratisseau, Mrs. J. L., and three children. 

Rattisseau, A., wife and three children, 
S, between Forty-first and Forty-second. 

Raw, Mr., at Lafitte grove. 

Ray, Hy, wife, sister and three children. 

Ray, Miss Susie. 

Reader, , family. 

Reads, Rutter, wife and children, Forty- 
third and T. 

Reagan, Mrs. Pat and son. Sixth and I. 

Reagan, Mrs. John J., 420 Center street. 

Reagan, John P. 

Reagan, J. N. 

Regan, Mike, wife and mother-in-law. 

Reagan, Mike. 

Reagan, H. J., wife and five children. Thirty- 
fifth and S'/i. ^ ^ 

Re" m, Wm., wife and two children, Tenth 
and Eleventh and M>^. 

Rein, , wife and daughter, Thirty-nmth 

and R. . 

Reinhart, Agnes and Helen, daughters of 

Rehun, Wm., wife and two children, M}4, 

between Eleventh and Twelfth. 
Reymanscott, Louie, Q, between Twenty- 
third and Twenty-fourth. 
Rhea, Mrs. M. E. and daughter, Mary, of 

Buford, Tenn. 
Rhine, John, wife and five children. Thirty- 
ninth and T. ... 
Rhine, Frank and George, Thirty-ninth, be- 
tween R and R^z- . , 
Rhodes, Miss Ella of Galveston, trained 

nurse in John Sealy hospital. 
Rhodes, Annie (colored), cook of Mrs. W. 

T. Sherwood. 
Rice, William J. (of Galveston News) and 

little daughter Mildred. 
Rice, loa and Fisher (colored). 
Richards, F. L, (officer), wife and one 

child. 
Richaruderes, Mrs. Irene and baby. 
Richardson, S. W. and wife, 2304 Q. 
Richardson, William (colored). 
Richardson, William M., 4413 Winnie. 
Ricke, Tony and wife. 
Riesel, Mrs. Lulu and two boys, Ray and 

Edna, Kinkead addition. 
Riley, Mrs. W. and two children. 
Riley, Solomon and wife. Sixteenth, between 

NandNK- 
Ripke, Thomas B., wife and four children, 

2018 F'A. 
Ritchie, Miss Helena A., Sixth and I. 
Ritter, Mrs. William (Charley), Twenty-first 

and P. 



532 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



Rimmelin, Edward H. and wife, N, between 
Twelfth and Thirteenth. 

Ring-, J., procrf reader Galveston News, and 
two children. 

Riordan, Thomas. 

Ripley, Henry. 

Ritzier, Mrs. 

Rizzi, Domenick, Tenth and M. 

Rhea, Mrs. and Miss Mamie Rhea of Giles 
county, Tenn. 

Rhymes, Mr. Thomas, wife and two children. 

Roach, Annie. 

Roberts, Herbert M., yard clerk Galveston, 
Houston and Northern railroad. 

Roberts, John T., watchman. 

Bobbins, Mrs. H. B., of Smith's Point, vis- 
iting W. H. Nelson. 

Roberts, (Shorry), battery O. 

Rochford, Ben and wife. Eleventh and A. 

Rodney, Henrietta, Thirty-ninth and R. 

Roemer, C. G. and wife, Tenth and L. 

Roeraer, Elizabeth, wife of A. C. 

Roehm, Mr. and Mrs. William and two chil- 
dren. 

Roemer, J. C and wife. 

Rogers, Blanch Donald, niece of D. B. 

Rohl, John, wife and five children. 

Rohn, Annie (colored). 

Roper, Mrs. Eliza (colored), Eleventh and M. 

Rose, Mrs. Franklin. 



John. 

Rose, H., wife and children. 

Rose's, (Mrs. ) baby. 

Roselli, Mrs. G. 

Roselli, Angelica. 

Roselli, Josephine. 

Roselli, Sam. 

Roselli, Francis. 

Rosenkranz, Theresia. 

Rosi, G. and two children. 

Ross, nine-year-old child of Mrs. Ross of 
Houston. 

Rosse, Mrs. L. and three children, Nine- 
teenth and P. 

Rosin, Hernann, wife and five children, 
Hernann, Willie, John, Fritz and Henry. 

RossaUe, B., wife and three children. 

Rossian, John and wife, down the island. 

Rossian, five brothers, down the island. 

Roth, Mrs. Kale and three children. 

Roudadaux, Murray. 

Rouda.doux, Mrs. F. J. and two children, 
Murray and Cecil, and sister-in-law, 
Louise Roudadoux. 

Rowan, ]\Irs. John and three children. 

Rowe, Ada and Hattie (colored). 

RoTve, Mrs. and three children. 

Rowe, George (colored). 

Ryan, Ada and infant (colorec \ 

Rodger, C. wife and child. 

Rudireker, and three women. 

Ruenbuhl, Johnnie, lost at Lamarque. 



Ruther, Robert, vyife and p-x childrea 
Forty-third and T, 

Ruhter, A. , mother and father. 

Ruhter, Lena. 

Ruehrmond, Prof., wife and two children. 

Rust, Margaret, Maude and Elvira, all chil- 
dren. 

Rutter, Robert, wife and six children, For- 
ty-third and T. 

Ryals, Charles, four children of, Myrtle, 
Wesley, Harry and Msbel. 

Ryan, Mrs. Mary, Kin'^ead addition. 

Rsrman, George, wife and daughter. 4405 

Sansor, Ernest, longshoreman. 

Sargeant, Thos., and two children, Arthur 
and Alice, Thirteenth and Fourteepth 
and avenue M^. 

Sarme, Mrs. George, 4513 K, between Fo^ 
ty-fifth and Forty-sixth streets. 

Sawyer, Dr. John B. 

Scarborough, Harry, a fisherman. 

Schader mantle, Maud. 

Schadermantle, Randle. 

Schaf, Mrs., and three children. 

Schalea, Richard, wife, son Frank, Forty- 
third and T;^- 

Scheller, Charles, Mrs., and four children, 
Thirty-fifth and Q. 

Schierholz, W., wife and five children. 

Schilke, Mrs. Julius, and two children, Au- 
gust and Albert. 

Schmidt, Mrs. R., and son Richard, '?% 
between Twenty-sixth and Twenty-sev- 
enth. 

Schneider, J. F, wife and six children 
milkman, down the island. 

Schneider, Henry, and two children. 

Schneider, John, wife and five children. 

Schneider, Mrs. Hy. sr. 

Schneider, child of Hy. jr. 

Schneider, Caroline. 

Schoolfield, (colored). 

Schoolfield, Isaac. 

Schrader, Mary. 

Schroeder, Mrs. Louise, and two children, 
Twenty-sixth and Q. 

Schroeder, Mrs. George M., and four chil- 
dren. 

Schuler, Mr. and Mrs. Charles, and five 
children. 

Schuler, Mrs. A. 

Schutz, Charles and Fred. 

Schultze, Charles. 

Schumacher, Annie. 

Schutte, , wife and two children. 

Schuzte, Mr. and Mrs. 

Schwarzbach, child of Theo. 

Schwoebel, George, wife and daughter 
Lulu. 

Scofelia, Miss Ida. 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



533 



Scott, Hughie (colored). 

Scott, Annie (colored). 

Scull, Mrs. Mary (colored). 

Seaborn, J. R. 

Seals, Wallace D. (colored). 

Seals, Sarah N. (colored). 

Sedgewick, child of. 

Seibel, Frederich, sr.. Thirty-seventh and 

Seibel, Mrs. Julius. 

Seibel, Lizzie. 

Seibel, Mrs. Jacob, and son Julius. 

Seidenstricker, John. 

Seidenstricker, John C, 1209 avenue N. 

Siedenstricker, John N., lived on N. be- 
tween Twelfth and Thirteenth. 

Seixas, Miss Lucille. 

Seixas, Mrs. C. E.i 

Seixas, Armour A. 

Seixas, Cecile. 

Segers and family. 

Severt, John and wife. 

Shaper, Henry, wife and two sons, milk- 
man, down the island. 

Sharp, Mr. and Mrs. 

Sharp, Miss Annie. 

Sharper, Henry, wife and five children, 
down the island. 

Shaw, Frank. 

Shelrey, Leon, son and daughter (colored). 

Sherman, Albert, (butcher, better known 
as " Yammer"). 

Shermer, A. 

Sherwood, Charles L., wife and two chil- 
dren. 

Sherwood, Thomas, wife and two or three 
children. 

Sherw^ood, Chas. Wm., baby seven months 
old, Eighth and I. 

Sherwood, Charles, avenue N, between 
Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets. 

Shook, Mr. and Mrs. Robert, jr. 

Siebel, O. F.,jr. 

Sinne, John, Lizzie and one child. Forty- 
first and Broadway. 

Sinnett, Maggie, Twenty-seventh and Q. 

Sinnett, Eddie, Twenty-seventh and Q. 

Sinpe, Calvin, and daughter. 

Skarke, Charles F"., son of Charles J. 

Skarke, in Catholic orphans' home, 
fekelton, Mrs. Emma, and two childeen. 

Slaughter, Philip (colored). 

Sliter, J. M.. longshoreman. 

Smith, Sallie (colored), cook for Dr. Per- 
kins. 

Smith, Stella, working for Mrs. C. H. 
Hughes. 

Smith, Gertrude. 

Smith, Mrs. Wiley (colored), Thirty -third 
andQ. 

Smith, Miss Ellen and child (colored). 

Smith, Miss Mary. 



Smith, Mrs., the grandmother of the Fore- 
mans. 

Smith, Mr. and Mrs. and two children, 
Lamarque, Tex. 

Smith, Charles L., between Twelfth and 
Thirteenth streets. 

Smith, Prof. E. P., wife and five children, 
Thirty-fifth and T. 

Smith, Jacob. 

Smith, Sam (colored), of Olympia theater. 

Sodich, L. 

Solomon, Frank, jr. 

Solomon, Mrs. Frank. 

Solomon, Herman. 

Solomon, Lena. 

Solomon, Julius. 

Solomon, Mrs. Julius. 

Sommer, Ferdinand and wife, Fifty-nintli 
and beach. 

Sommer, Mollie, Sophie, Annie, Fifty-ninth 
and beach. 

Sommer, Mr. and Mrs. Joe, Fifty-ninth and 
beach, 

Sommer, Aline, Fifty-ninth and beach. 

Soraerville, S. B. and wife (colored). 

Sourbien, battery O. 

Southwick, Mrs. J. Sanford and child. 

Spaeter, Mrs. Fredericka. 

Spaeter, Otilia. 

Spaldnig, Joseph, Sydnor's bayou. 

Spanish sailor, steamship Talesforo, body 
buried north side of Sweetwater lake ; 
marked "sailor." 

Speck, Captain. 

Spencer, Stanley G. 

Spriggs, Mary. 

Stacker, Miss Sophie. 

Stacker, Miss Alfred. 

Stacker, George. 

Stackpole, Dr. and family. 

Stawinsky, Ed., wife and son, 

Stajrton, Mrs. Carrie B. (colored). 

Stedilng, Harry, wife and child. 

Steeb, Julius, wife and two children. 

Steinbrink, Frederick W. and three child- 
ren, 4209 S. 

Steinforth, Mrs. Emma, Twentieth and 
P'A- 

Stellman, Lily. 

Stellman, Robert, wife and child. 

Stenzel, wife and three children. 

Stering, O. B. 

Stevens, Frankie, Leo, Jerald and Edward, 
sons of T. J. 

Stewart, Robert C, 

Stewart, Miss Lester. 

Stiglich, Mamie. 
Stillmann, Miss Lily, 3207 K. 
Stillman, Lillie, down the island. 
Stockfleth, wife of Peter, and six children, 
Stousland, Mr. and Mrs. Joe. 
Stravo, Nick, wife and son John, 



534 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



Strunk, Wm., wife and six children, Thirty- 
fourth and R. 
Studley, Mrs. and two children. Fortieth 

and R. 
Stub, Julius, wife and two children. 
Sudden, Clara (colored). 
Sugar, Mrs. and two children. 
Sullivan, Mrs. Martha and child, R, between 

Thirty-first and Thirty-second. 
Sullivan, Mrs. J. A. and son, Thirty-second 

and Q/z. 
Summers, Sarah. 
Summers, Mrs. M. S., 1012 K. 
Swan, Auguste, Thirty-seventh and Q. 
S"wan, George. 

Swan, George, wife and four children. 
Swanson, Mrs. Martin. 
Swain, Richard D. 
Swain, Mrs. Mary, avenue I, between Tenth 

and Eleventh streets. 
Sweigel, George, mother and sister. 
Swenson, Mrs. Mary, K, between Eleventh 

and Twelfth. 
Swickel, Mrs. Mary, Miss Kate and Miss 

May, 1902 Twenty-seventh street. 
S37mms, two children of H. G. 

Tarpey, Joseph. 

Tavinett, Antonet. 

Taylor, Mrs. (colored). 

Taylor, Mrs. J. W., Forty-sixth and K. 

Taylor, Calvin (colored), 2314 Twenty- 
eighth. 

Taylor, Sarah (colored), 2314 Twenty- 
eighth. 

Taylor, Costello (colored), 2314 Twenty- 
eighth. 

Teaque, Lavina (colored), and three child- 
ren. Twenty-seventh, between P>^ and 

Q- 
Tenbusch, George and John. 
Tenbush, Steve (butcher). Forty-fourth 

andR. 
Tentenberg, Mrs. A. S. and child. 
Terrell, Columbus, carpenter, wife and 

three children ; lived at 41 17 S. 
Terrell, Mrs. Q. V., and four children 

(colored), N and Fifteenth. 
Tetze, Emet. 
Thomas, Pat, and eight children, T, between 

Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh. 
Thomas, Nowen and Nathaniel. 
Thomas, Milton (colored), Eleventh and 

M. 
Thomas, Mr. and Mrs.' B. W., and three 

children. 
Thompson, Thomas, wife and four child- 
ren. 

Thompson, , wife and three children. 

Thomssen, Mrs. W. D. and three children, 

down the island. 
Thurmao, Mrs. (colored). 



Tian, Mrs. Clement and three children. 

Tickle, H. J., wife and two children. 

Tickle, Mrs. James, sr. 

Tiggs, Lavinia and daughter (colored). 

TiUebach, Mrs. Charles and three children. 

Tilsman, Robert, wife and five children. 46 
Broadway. 

Tix, Herman. 

Told, Seihel, sr., aged 76 years, Thirty- 
seventh and M}4. 

Tolomei, Paul, wife and two children. 

Torr, T. C, wife and five children. 

Toothaker, Mrs. J. E. 

Toothaker, Miss Etta. 

Tovrea, Sam, wife and four children. 

Tozer, Mrs. G. M. 

Tozer, Miss Berna, Thirty-second and Q>^. 

Trahan, Mrs. H. V. and child. 

Threadw^ay, Lily. 

Threadwell, Mrs. J. B. and child. 

Travers, Mrs. H. C. and son Sheldon. 

Trebosius, Mrs. George. 

Trebosius, Fred, Thirty-first and S. 

Trickhausen, Mrs. , an old lady. 

Tripo, an oysterman. 

Tripo, Bosick. 

Trostman, E., wife and three children. 

Tucker, Mr. and Mrs. and one child. 

Tuckett, Walter, wife and child, Q and 
Twenty-seventh. 

Turner, Angeline (colored.) 

Turner, Mrs. K. and little girl. 

Turner, Mr. and Mrs. 

Turner, Mrs. W. 

Udell, Oliver, wife and child, Forty-fifth 

and U. 
Uhl, Mrs. Chris and four children, Forty-fifth 

and K. 
Underhill, Carpenter, and wife, two weeks 

from El Paso, formerly from Michigan. 
Unger, E., wife and four children (Frank, 

Eddie and Sophie saved), Forty-fifth and 

Broadway. 
Uitt, Mary, of Houston. 
Ulridge, Adelaide (colored). 

Valeton, Mrs. and Miss Marie, lost at 
Giozza residence. 

Vamey, Mrs. B. (colored). 

Van Buren, Herman, wife and three chil- 
dren. 

Van Liew, Mollie (colored). 

Varnell, Jim, wife and si-x children, Kinkead 
addition. 

Vassenroot, Edward, wife and two chil- 
dren. 

Vaughn, Miss May, Eleventh and Mechanic. 

Vaught, Edna, child of W. J. Vaught. 

VeUn, Mrs. H. 

Vidovich, Mike. 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. 



535 



Vining, Mrs. Annie and four children (col- 
ored). 

Vinnie, Miss Annie (colored). 

Visco, Franovicli. 

Viscovitch, Magdalena, daughter of Mrs. 
Veleda XHscovitch, N '^ and Seventeenth. 

Vitoretta, Mrs. N. L., Twenty-seventh and 

Vitovitch, John and family. 

Vog-el, Mrs. Henry C, and three children. 

Vogel, Mrs. and daughter Bertha, Twenty- 
seventh and P. 

Volger, Mrs. F., and daughter, Bertha. 

Vordenbaumen, Mrs. and children. 

Vuletuch, Andrew, wife and daughter, down 
the island. 

Wade, Mrs. Hillie (colored), Forty-eighth 
and G. 

Wade, wife and two children, down the 
island. 

Wade, Hettie and husband (colored). 

Wag-ner, , and wife (farmer). 

Wakelee, Mrs. David. 

Walden, Sam, son of H. W. (colored). 

Waldgxen, Mr. 

Wallace, Scott and Earl. 

Wallace, , and wife (Mud bridge). 

Wallace, George, wife, mother and child- 
ren, Berth, Tom, Fred and Florence, 
4017 T/z, 

Wallace, , wife and four children 

Thirty-seventh and M>i. 

Walker, Mrs. H. Y. 

Walker, Louis D., R and Thirty-ninth. 

Walker, Joe. 

Wallis, Lee, wife, mother, four children, 
and Pearl Ellison, all of Palestine. 

Walter, Mrs. Charles and three children. 

Walsh, James N. and wife. 

Walsh, Joseph, wife and child. 

Walters, Gus, 3602 Q'/i. 

Waring, Mrs. (colored). 

Warnke, Mr. and Mrs. , and children, Forty- 
first and S. 

Warner, Mrs. A. S. 

Warner, Mrs. Flora. 

Wanrke, Mrs. A. W. and five children. 

Warrah, Martin. 

Warren, Celia (colored). 

Warren, James, wife and six children. 

Warren, John. 

Warwarvosky, Adolph, mother and sister. 

Washington, John and five children. Forty- 
sixth and T. 

Washington, Mrs. (colored). 

Washington, William and wife (colored), 
alley, P and P>^. Twenty-sixth and 
Twenty-seventh . 

Watkins, Mrs. (mother of Stanly Watkins). 

Watkins, child of P. 

Watkins, Mr. S. 



Watson, J. G., Mrs., and two children, 

Forty-third and T. 
Waxmouth, Frank. 
Weber, Mrs. Charles P. 
Webber, Mrs. Anna. 
Webber, Mr. S. and family. 
Weber, W. J., wife and two childreu. 
Webster, Mr. Edward, sr. 
Webster, Charley. 
Webster, Julia. 
Webster, Sarah. 
Webeter, George. 
Webster, Kenneth. 
Weeden, L. E., wife and six children, Kin* 

kead addition. 
Weeks, Mrs. Millie 'I'^d child (colored), 

down the island. 
Weideman, F. W. and wife. 
Weihousen, Mrs. Minnie, 3413 P>^. 
Weiman, Mrs. John C 
Weinberg, Fritz. 
Weinberg, Mrs. F. A. 
Weinberg, Otto, wife and five dhildren. 
Weiners, daughter of J. C, 2602 P}4, died 

of injuries. 
Weisei% Paul, wife and mother, K, between 

Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth. 
Weiss, Oscar, wife and five children. 
Weiss, Prof. Carl. 
Weit, Mr. and three children. 
Welche, Mrs. John. 

Welsh, Theophiel, in charge of race track. 
Wendemann, Mrs. 
Westaway, Mrs. George. 
Westerman, Mrs. A. 
Westman, Mrs. 
Weyer, Judge and wife. 
Weyer, Alex. 
Weyer, Hy. 
Weyer, John. 
Wharton. 
Whitcomb, Mrs. Georgia, and baby of nine 

months. 
White, Willie (colored). 
White, family of Walter. 
White, James, wife and baby. 
Whittle, Tom, baker at Kahn's. 
Whittlesey, one child of Officer H. P 

Whittlesey. 
Wicke, Lena, Mrs., Twenty-eighth and Q|2. 
Wiede, Mrs. Augusta and five children, 

2824 avenue P. 
Wiedemann, F. 
Wilke, CO., wife and child. 
Wilcox, child of, 

Wilde, Miss Freda, down the island. 
Wilkinson, George, wife and son. Thirty- 

seventh and R. 

Wilks, and wife. 

Williams, Csesar (colored), forty-fifth and P. 
Williams, Ed. "Crow.") 
Williams, Mrs. Adaline (colored). 



536 



NAMES OF THE VICTIMS 



"Williams, Mrs. Cecil (colored). 

"Williams, father of Frances (colored). 

"Williams, Mary, Mrs., Twenty-ninth and L. 

WilUams, Rosanna (colored), Forty-first 
and S. 

"Williams, Miss. 

Williams, Alex. 

Williams, Mrs. E. C. (colored). 

'Williams, Joseph N., .between Sixteenth 
and Seventeenth. 

Williams, Frank, wife and child, Heard 
lane. 

Williams, Sam (colored). 

"Williams, Bob (colored). 

"Williams, John, Fortieth and R)4. 

"Williams, Mrs. (mother of Mrs. Joe Jay). 

"Williamson, W., longshoreman. 

Willifred, Mrs. Elmira, mother-in-law of 
Louis Gruetzmacher 

Willis, Hester, and daughter (colored). 

Wilson, Mrs. Julia Ann (colored), 2317 ave- 
nue P. 

Wilson, Annie. 

Wilson, Ben T. 

"Wilson, Mrs. Julia Ann (colored),? between 
Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh. 

Wilson, Mary and child. 

"Wilson, Bertha (colored). 

Wilson, Mrs. B. 

"Winscoath, Mrs. Annie. 

"Winscoatte, Mrs. W. B. 

Winscott, Mrs. William. 

"Windman, Mrs. 

"Winn, Mrs. and child. 

"Winsmore, James and family, seven mem- 
bers. 

Withee, N. H. and wife. 

Withey, H. 

"Witt, C. F., wife and two children. 

"Wolfe, Chas. , wife and two children. 

"Wolfe, Officer Charles, wife and son, Ed- 
ward. 

Wolfe, Mrs. Louis and child (recently from 
Florida). 

Wolthers, F. A., wife and child, Thirty- 
sixth and Q)4. 

Wood, Mrs. S. W., mother of United States 
Marshall Wood. 

Wood, Mrs. R. N., between Fourteenth and 
Fifteenth (colored). 

"Wood, Edie and Burley (colored). 

"Wood, Wm. (colored). 

"Wood, Mrs. S. W. 

"Wood, Mrs. Caroline and two daughters, 

Mary and Katie. 
Wood, Mrs. Julia (colored), Twenty-eighth 

and Q}4. 
"Wood, James Horace. 
Woodmannie, Miss (of Joliet, 111.). 



Woodrow, Matilda (colored). 
Woodward, Mrs. R. L. and daughters. 

Miss Mollie Parker and Misses Hattie 

and Maggie Woodward, Fifteenth and 

M. 
"Woodward, E. G., jr., Eleventh and M. 
Woollam, C. 
"Wootun, Gus, wife and three cliildren, 

Forty-fifth and J. 
"Wright, Louise and Johnnie. 
Wuchnach, M., wife and two children. 
"Wurzlow, Mrs. Annie, Twenty-sixth and 

Q. 

■yeates, child of J. K. 

■y eager, William. 

"Youens, Hy. Geo. , 5 years. 

"Youens, Miss Lillian, 20 years. 

"Young, Francis. 

Young, Ferdinand. 

Young, Mrs. Mary, of Lamarque. 

Young, Mrs. Paul, Lamarque, Tex. 

Young, Mrs. , two daughters and one 

son, Lamarque, Tex. 

Youngblood, L. J., wife and child. 

Younger, Evelina (colored), and two chil- 
dren. 

Zickler, Mrs. Fred and two children. 

Zipp, Mrs. and daughter. 

Zurpanin, Mrs. N. and eight children. 

Zwanzig, Adolph, sr. 

Zwanzig, Richard. 

Zwanzig, Herman. 

Zwanzig, three daughters of Adolph. 

Zweigel, Mrs. and two daughters. 



Templars of Honor and Temperance. 

To the News : The Templars of Honor and 
Temperance sustained the loss of nine of its 
members during the late storm in our city, 
as follows : 

Thomas Keats. 
Harry A. Drewa. 
H. "Vanburen. 
F. "Wiedemann. 
A. Shermer. 
A. Dahlgreen. 
Joe Jewel. 
Asa P. Delano. 
Robt. Harris. 

The latter two were members of Temple 
No. 33, the others of Temple No. 31. 

H. A. RussELU 







sHi 




AUK •» or. ji 



